Clear Blue Morning
by cumberland river relic
Summary: Complete: Police Chief Teresa Lisbon gets help from a stranger - one who resembles someone special from her past. Can she prove his real identity? Romance and mystery ensue.
1. Help!

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story.

In _Mentalist_ episode 6x09, "My Blue Heaven," Teresa Lisbon is the Police Chief of Cannon River, Washington. What if events took a different course from that episode?

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the story title and the chapter title follow at the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 1: Help!

* * *

Police Chief Teresa Lisbon of Cannon River, Washington stared in disbelief at the scene on the other side of the glass.

_How did I ever end up with this mess?_

Like a turtle turned upside down, Officer Henry Karson was flailing - and failing - in his attempt to coax something useful out of the suspect. The guy sitting across the table from her officer was tight-lipped, and apart from two things he said nothing. First, he knew nothing about the ATM robbery. Second, he wanted a lawyer. After another five fruitless minutes, Henry turned to the glass, shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head.

_Way to go, Henry. You might as well have yelled your frustration out loud._

The officer got up and walked to the door of the interrogation room. With a warning for the suspect to sit tight, he exited. He hadn't got two steps down the hall before Teresa grabbed him by the shirt sleeve to haul him into the observation room.

"What the hell was that about, turning around to shrug your shoulders at me?"

"I was frustrated, ma'am," he said.

"Obviously. We all are, Henry. But you don't tip off your suspect to your frustration. And don't acknowledge that someone is watching on the other side of the glass."

"Yes, ma'am."

"How many more suspects do you have to interview?"

"Three more."

Teresa rubbed the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh.

"Go ahead. Tell that guy that we'll be in touch, not to leave town, all the regular warnings."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Get going, Henry. You need to get through the rest of them today. And _don't_ telegraph your thoughts to the suspects!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll bet you have trouble playing poker, don't you?"

"No, ma'am. I don't have trouble playing poker. I know how to play it, and lots of people invite me their poker nights. It's just the winning I have trouble with."

_Someday the light bulb will click on in your head, Henry. I hope I'm around to see it._

She motioned for him to go back to the suspect. Finished with the officer, she retreated to her office. Once there, she lowered her head to the desk amid the piles of open case reports she had been reviewing.

Getting help for her department was easier said than done. Her operating budget could only stretch so far. She desperately needed new officers, at least sharper ones, but there just wasn't enough money to go around. On top of that the talent pool for a small town like Cannon River was limited. If only her officers could work smarter.

Teresa had to admit that CBI had spoiled her in regard to talent. She'd had a good team, one that was smart, energetic, resourceful. The best at CBI. And she'd had Patrick Jane too.

A dull ache rose in her heart. She closed her eyes as the images of him played through her mind - the betrayals, the manipulations, the cons. Then another series of thoughts surfaced - the shared moments, the laughter, the caring for each other.

_And he loved me as much as I loved him. But there was just too much baggage to break down that last barrier. And then what happened at the end. I guess he had to vanish. How I wish things were different._

She had looked forward to his letters, smuggled to her through his carny friends. If she couldn't be with him, at least she could hear from him. But then the letters had stopped coming, and the silence left the deep pain in her heart.

No use lingering on what couldn't be.

With a sigh she looked at the papers again. Surely there had to be some way to get ahead of the game here in Cannon River. Swiveling her chair around to the credenza behind her, she pulled up the budget spreadsheet on her computer for the hundredth time. If she could squeeze just a little money from three or four accounts, maybe she could bring in a profiler, someone who could get the whole department working better. A game-changer like Jane had been.

After playing with the numbers for a half-hour, she slammed her fist down on the credenza. There was _some_ money, but by the time she factored in travel and living expenses there were just pennies left. What to do?

Glancing down, Teresa looked under her fist. Mixed in with the morning mail was a press release from Deverell College.

"_Deverell College of Cannon River, Washington, is pleased to announce its Experts Program. Select faculty will be available to consult with businesses, non-profits, and governmental agencies on a variety of topics. For more information, call our Marketing and Advancement Department, 360-555-3167."_

While she had never set foot on campus, she drove by the college often and met many alumni across the city. Three of her officers graduated from there - three of the better ones.

Teresa needed help, and she needed it in a hurry. Could Deverell deliver an answer?

* * *

How had things come to this? When she drove over to Deverell's rustic, tree-filled campus that morning for her appointment with the Director of Marketing and Advancement, Teresa thought she'd only be talking with him. She wanted to feel out the situation, not make any commitments. Over the years at CBI she'd heard about a few occasions when agents would reach out to the academic world for help. The number of failures dwarfed the successes, and the last thing Teresa needed was to end up babysitting some windbag professor who blathered on about some useless pet theory. But if she could just get even a little help for the department with this "Hail Mary pass," it would be worth it.

Herb, the Director of Marketing and Promotions at Deverell, impressed her as a master at his trade. It was all about making connections, building networks. She could tell he'd already added her to his mental rolodex. He told her that he'd see if he could turn up someone for her to talk to. But while they were talking she could see the wheels turning in his head, and he asked for a moment to make a call.

"U-huh, u-huh. Hey, that's great. I owe you one, Jill."

Hanging up, Herb directed his attention to her.

"Chief Lisbon, it's not often we get someone of your position to pay us a visit here on campus. That was Jill, the President's assistant. President Birnbaum has some free time right now, and I'd like for you to meet her."

_No, no, no! I just wanted a simple meeting, not at state visit!_

In her mind, Teresa let out a sigh big enough to vibrate the walls. Like it or not, public relations was part of the job.

Teresa plastered her official "Oh thank you for doing this for me" smile on her face as Herb escorted her down the hallway. What she needed was help, not another "how-do-you-do" with a member of the local elite.

* * *

Teresa was wrong. Completely wrong. When she got the chance, she needed to thank Herb for introducing her to Rholanda Birnbaum. The two women had an instant rapport; Teresa saw a kindred spirit, the kind of person she had hoped to meet ever since she arrived in Cannon River. Reminding her of an older, slightly graying version of Madeline Hightower in appearance, President Birnbaum exuded a no-nonsense yet positive command of her surroundings. Here was a real leader, the kind of person Teresa always liked being around.

Their meeting was only supposed to be a handshake greeting, yet here they were forty-five minutes later commiserating about each being the only girl growing up in a family of boys. The time was flying by but Teresa didn't want to leave this woman's presence. It felt so good to talk to someone like her. Even the twenty or so years that separated their ages melted away as they talked.

Suddenly President Birnbaum drew in a deep breath.

"Oh my goodness, Chief Lisbon. I got to talking so much about family that I forgot why you came here. Please accept my apologies; it's just that I've enjoyed our conversation so much. I haven't talked about my brothers - good and bad - in a long time."

Teresa laughed.

"I think we're very similar, President Birnbaum. And please, call me Teresa."

"I will if you call me, Rho."

Rho looked to the outer office and waved someone in.

* * *

As Professor Cobblethorpe Birnbaum sauntered across campus on his way to see his wife the President, his unbuttoned lab coat flapped in the breeze. His Physical Chemistry class had finished early so he had more time for lunch today. When he entered the Deverell administration building, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting - in the Dean of Students office. His interest piqued, Cobb slipped through the open door of the outer suite. Looking into the inner office, he saw Dean Windsor Chan leaning against the far wall, silent with his arms crossed. Sitting in Chan's chair was Cobb's friend, Professor Archibald Marbray. Across from Marbray a glazed-eyed student mumbled out a steady string of words.

"Yes-I-stole-the-money-from-the-cafeteria-register-and-those-other-places-but-you've-gotta-understand…"

_So that's who dunnit!_

Cobb's movement attracted his attention. Archie glanced over at him, nodded, and turned back to the student.

"…and-ever-since-I-got-here-it's-been-like-this-cause-my-parents-don't-understand-me-and-I-don't-see-why…"

Cobb had seen enough of that student the semester before in his Organic Chemistry class. He'd always suspected the student of cheating, and now Archie had obviously unmasked him as the "Money Drawer Bandit." The cafeteria theft was only the latest in a string that centered on petty cash drawers - the bookstore, the snack market, the library front desk. It was never much money, certainly not enough to risk one's future over. But the student - _ah, yes, his name was Bob_ - probably didn't think that far ahead.

With a wink and a wave, Cobb went back into the hallway.

_Well, Archie won't be joining me for lunch today. Maybe Rho got out of her meeting with the plant operations people. She's gotta eat sometime._

Walking to the end of the hall, Cobb entered the office suite of the President. When she saw him, Jill the administrative assistant smiled.

"So, I guess Rho is still meeting with the plant ops staff?"

Cobb snuck a look into his wife's office. From what he could see, it hardly seemed like a meeting to discuss air chillers and steam pipes. Sitting in the guest chair was a woman convulsed in laughter. Rho was laughing too. Cobb's heart warmed to see his wife laugh during the day; so often he would drop by the office to find Rho mentally exhausted only half-way through the morning. Whoever was with her he hoped would stay longer and come back - he could see the merriment in Rho's eyes.

"That meeting got canceled. She's in there with the city police chief." Jill said.

_The police chief? And the two of them are laughing? Interesting._

Cobb looked back to Jill.

"Do you think Rho is planning to have me arrested as a public nuisance?"

"I don't think she'd ever do that, Professor Birnbaum, unless she was going to arrest Professor Marbray along with you. And since you didn't come in here trailing him along you're safe."

"Thank goodness for twists of fate and all that."

Cobb noticed that Rho had spied him. She motioned for him to enter. Being ever the dutiful husband, Cobb complied.

* * *

When Rho motioned for someone to come into the office, Teresa looked around to see a man with thinning blond hair the same age as Rho.

"Cobb, I want you to meet my new friend Police Chief Teresa Lisbon. Teresa, this is the man I told you stole my heart away thirty years ago - Professor Cobblethorpe Birnbaum. Everyone calls him Cobb including me. I only call him Cobblethorpe when he's in trouble."

Cobb shook Teresa's hand. Then he turned to his wife.

"I wish you wouldn't use my name and the word 'stole' together in front of someone in law enforcement, Rho. You might give her the wrong idea."

They all laughed, and Teresa noted with the obvious affection between the couple.

"I've really enjoyed talking with your wife, Cobb. I'm sorry it's taken this long for me to visit your school and meet her."

Rho walked around the desk and rubbed her husband's shoulder.

"Cobb and I fulfill the old adage, 'date biologists and marry chemists.' He's a chemist, and I at least used to be a biologist before getting into college administration. So we've got that old line covered between us."

"What brings you to Deverell, Teresa?" asked Cobb.

"Looking for some help with some of our police cases. I'm hoping someone can help us wade through the backlog, be smarter about our investigations."

"That certainly sounds like a worthy goal."

"Cobb, I'm glad you showed up. You know who I was thinking about introducing Teresa to?"

Cobb nodded.

"Arch?"

"Exactly. Don't you think he'd be just the solution Teresa's looking for?"

"Yep."

"And I think the two of them would get along well too."

Cobb turned to Teresa.

"Professor Archibald Marbray is one of our newer faculty members. The school uses Archie to sniff out all sorts of transgressions."

"Transgressions?" Teresa laughed at the term. It seemed so old-fashioned, so different from what she was used to.

"Petty theft, vandalism, and especially cheating. No one's better at pulling out a confession about cheating than Archie."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I'm convinced his reputation prevents a lot of cheating from occurring in the first place. The students have a nickname for him: 'Dr. Truth'."

Teresa couldn't help but laugh as the image of a caped superhero crossed her mind. Dr. Truth had a giant golden "T" etched across his chest.

"So the two of you think Dr. Truth could help me out?"

"He's surely made a difference since he's been with us. And he's coming up for tenure this term," Cobb said.

"We fast-tracked him." Rho spoke in a matter-of-fact way when she said that.

Academic tenure was one of those vague terms that Teresa had heard of but had little understanding of. Cobb noticed her blank stare.

"Rho, Teresa's not familiar with how we use that term." He looked back to Teresa. "Tenure in the academic sense means longer-term employment with the institution. Faculty covet and compete for that."

"So how does that figure in with me, with the police department's work?"

"Community service can be a positive factor, something looked upon with favor."

"So what you're saying is that this Professor Marbray might be interested in working with us? That would be good because I can't offer much in the way of a consulting fee."

"Oh, I suspect he'll be open to the idea of working with you. Especially if my husband goes with you to talk to him." Rho looked over at her husband. "You'll help Teresa, won't you?" Rho glanced over at Teresa then back to Cobb. "You'll help _us_, won't you?"

_Wow! Putting pressure on her husband. I like this woman._

Cobb smiled.

"How can I ever say no to you? I mean, you're my boss and all."

Rho stroked her husband's hand.

"Archie and Cobb are good friends. The two of them get inseparable sometimes even though he's considerably younger than us. Archie's 'still a pup' as my husband would say."

"So he's just out of school?"

"Not really. He's about the same age as you." When Cobb said that, Teresa noticed that the two of them smiled at each other.

"Do you think Archie's available right now, Cobb?"

Her husband looked at his watch.

"He's gone to class by now, Rho. I came by your office to see if you'd eaten yet."

Rho looked at Teresa.

"See, Cobb and Archie are such good friends that I'm second choice for a lunch partner." Her husband mock-winced as Rho continued. "Well, you're in luck. I don't have a meeting again until 1:30. Why don't the three of us go over to the cafeteria, and then you can take Teresa to meet Archie?"

"Good plan, Rho."

"How about it, Teresa? Will you join Cobb and me for lunch?"

"I'd love to."

Teresa was having such a pleasant time with Rho that despite the mountain of work back at the office, she called the police station to cancel her afternoon schedule.

* * *

During lunch in the cafeteria, Teresa found out more about the couple. They loved the outdoors, especially hiking and photography. Unfortunately, Rho's job kept her from many outings.

"So you don't go on as many hiking trips as you used to?"

"Me, not so much. Fortunately Cobb got Archie interested in hiking so the two of them go frequently. They also take student groups with them so it works out well all around."

Cobb chuckled.

"When Archie first showed up here he really wasn't an outdoors person. Rho and I changed his mind though. Nowadays he goes out a lot on his own if I'm not available. He told me once he finds solace along the trail."

Rho's phone chimed. She looked at its screen and sighed.

"Well, duty calls. That donor we've been working on the last six months is due to stop by in fifteen minutes. You know, the one we're trying to get a seven figure gift from for the arena. Gotta go put on my game face. Gimme my good luck kiss, babe."

She wrapped her hand around the back of her husband's neck and drew their lips together.

_They're a sweet couple._

"See ya tonight." Cobb gave Rho's hand a squeeze and he redirected his attention to Teresa. "Looks like it's about time for Archie's afternoon class to let out. Shall we go?"

"Let's." A sudden sense of anticipation filled Teresa, like maybe the answer to her problems might be in a lecture hall the next building over.

* * *

To be continued

* * *

Dolly Parton wrote and recorded "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" on her album _New Harvest…First Gathering_ in 1976. In recent years the song has become a favorite choral music piece as well.

The Beatles recorded the John Lennon-Paul McCartney song "Help!" in 1965 for their movie soundtrack album of the same name.


	2. How Do

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora'**s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest in her series, "The Lovers."

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2: How Do

* * *

Teresa and Cobb stood at the rear of a large lecture hall. From their vantage point, she could see from one end of the amphitheater to the other. Down below, a professor looked like an entertainer performing in front of an audience. He gestured to an overhead screen with the frozen image of two men in a video on it. In the scene one had extended his arms as if in supplication. The other had his arms crossed in triumph.

"…and that, good students, is an example of how not to start a negotiation. We'll pick up with this again next class. See you then!"

The pleasant English accent of the professor wafted up to reach her ears. The timbre of his voice sounded soothing and oddly familiar in a way she couldn't fathom.

The professor glanced upwards, and she was sure he saw her and Cobb standing in the back. She thought she saw his mouth drop open but at that distance she couldn't be sure. He did lower his face back down to the papers spread across the lectern.

"Bang." "Thump." "Mumble-mumble-mumble."

Chaos erupted as students gathered their books or talked to each other or approached the teacher to ask something. The end of this class reminded her of the end to all of the classes she'd ever had in school.

Teresa took further stock of the professor. Several students had gathered around him, and she sensed the comfort he had dealing with them. As he talked, he walked around the lectern to turn off power switches and gather his papers. His posture, his gait as he moved around gave every sign that he was in his element, in total command of the situation.

Cobb tapped her arm for her to follow him down the steps. Walking behind him, she brushed past outbound students distracted by phones and ear buds plastered against their ears. On the way down the steps she also picked up three conversations: "No, I won't go out with you again, Steve. Ever again." "Yeah, that Seahawks trade sucks." and "Don't ever try to cheat in this class. 'Dr. Truth' will find you out."

At the bottom of the steps Cobb stopped as did Teresa. A stubborn knot of students clung around their professor as they fired questions at him about due dates, lecture notes, and reading assignments. Cobb looked over to Teresa and shrugged his shoulders.

"Archie Marbray is our most popular professor by far."

"Even though the students call him Dr. Truth?"

Cobb laughed.

"He must hypnotize the students. That's the only explanation I can come up with."

Teresa directed her attention back to Marbray. Up close he looked exactly like the stereotype of a college professor. A very attractive one about her age. Why couldn't her profs in college have looked like that? A tweed jacket hung loosely off his shoulders, and a pair of gray dress pants complemented the jacket. His jet black hair curled around the top of his head in wisps, and he sported a neatly trimmed beard that matched the color of his hair. Black-rimmed glasses gave him a slightly nerdish yet pleasing look. As for his build it was on the thin side, and his body movements betrayed someone who lived the active life that Cobb described. When she looked up and down the man again, her heart skipped a beat. Under his jacket was a white turtleneck shirt.

_Oh my._

Almost by instinct she moved her gaze to his left hand. A bare ring finger.

_Interesting._

The last of the students dispersed, and Cobb motioned for them to move forward.

"I missed you for lunch today, but at least you closed the case on the Money Drawer Bandit."

Marbray answered Cobb while he stared at Teresa.

"Yes. Well, Dean Chan told me the school won't press charges, they'll just expel him. Probably for the best."

"Archie Marbray, I'd like to introduce you to Police Chief Teresa Lisbon."

"Pleased to meet you, Chief Lisbon." He extended his hand to shake hers. "I'm not in any trouble, am I?"

"None that I'm aware of. Should I be?" She smiled as she sensed some force drawing her to him. "You can call me Teresa."

"And you can call me Archie." His smile melted her. Only one person before had been able to do that.

"You know, Arch, if she was gonna arrest you it would be for your poor fashion sense."

Teresa jerked her head around to Cobb.

"What?" From her view this was a fine specimen of a man.

"Look at his shoes, Teresa."

She dropped her gaze downward then chuckled. Archie was wearing a pair of well-worn hiking shoes. She looked back to his face again.

"Well that's different."

"Oh, I've got a pair of dress shoes I keep in the closet. But I'm at the point in my life where I appreciate the simple joys, like wearing a comfortable pair of shoes. Culture be damned." He looked over to Cobb. "Unless of course Rho says my tenure depends on how my feet are shod. Then I'll think about changing over."

"What point in life are you at, Archie?" Teresa asked.

"The point where I'm not trying to prove anything, not chasing after anything, just enjoying the pleasures of everyday living."

Despite her training as a law enforcement officer, Teresa had already formed a first impression of Archie. She liked him. A lot. Along with that though a little voice in the back of her head kept bubbling up. She decided to say it out loud.

"You remind me of someone, but I'm not sure who."

Archie laughed as he directed his mesmerizing smile full force on Teresa.

"Oh, Teresa, that happens all the time. People tell me that I remind them of Brad Pitt. Well, except for the black hair. And my English accent. And the fact that I'm not married to Angelina Jolie. But other than that we're dead ringers!"

That made her guffaw out loud. After a moment she inhaled a deep breath to settle herself down.

"Archie, I wanted to talk to you about doing some work with the police department."

"Me? A constable?"

The quaint way he used the word "constable" made Teresa laugh again.

"Consultant. I wanted to discuss with you about doing some consulting work with my department. Is there somewhere we can go to talk?" She looked back and forth between Archie and Cobb.

"How about we all go to the coffee shop by the cafeteria, Teresa? It's quiet enough this time of the afternoon that you and Archie can talk undisturbed."

Archie nodded his head to agree with Cobb.

"That sounds like a good idea. I've cleared my afternoon schedule so we can chat," Teresa replied.

Archie turned to the lectern, swept his papers and books into a satchel, and slung it over his shoulder. That done, he motioned for the three of them to climb the steps out of the amphitheater.

When they reached the top, a male student jumped into the door frame in front of Archie. He was a bear of man even for his young age, and he blocked Archie's path.

"Dr. Truth, do you remember me?"

Alarm bells went off in Teresa's head when she heard Archie's nickname.

"Yes, your name's Kyle, isn't it?"

"It is. I just wanted to thank you for something."

"What's that?"

"For ruining my life. You caught me cheating last term."

No one could miss the tension in the student's voice.

"I remember. You confessed."

"Yeah, but it wasn't that big a deal. Not big enough to get me tossed out of school."

"The Disciplinary Council thought otherwise."

"Yeah but it never would have gotten that far if you hadn't brought it forward. You can go #* & yourself."

When Teresa heard the profanity spew out of Kyle's mouth, she knew there was trouble. Before she could do anything though, the boy slammed his fist into Archie's face. Archie hit the floor and his glasses skittered halfway down the hall.

Teresa pushed Cobb aside to grab Kyle's arm. Twisting it around his back she hurled him against the concrete wall. Using her body to pin his, she spoke in the no-nonsense-I'm-in-control voice she had honed over the years.

"Sir, you're under arrest for assault."

"No, no, no, Teresa. Don't do that. I won't press charges. Let him go. He won't hurt me again." Archie rose up off the floor, his hand rubbing his face.

Bewildered, Teresa eased up her pressure on the boy's back. Archie gently stroked the boy's arm, and she felt the tension in his body relax. With a nod from Archie, she released him. He waved her aside, grasped the boy's arm, and guided the two of them in a slow walk down the hall. In gentle words, Archie talked to Kyle for a couple of minutes.

"…Now, Kyle, you didn't mean to do that, did you? You need to relax. You're not even a student here anymore. You need to move along now, Kyle. Get on with your life and the opportunities before you…"

"Thank you, Professor Marbray. I'm sorry I hit you. It's just been so frustrating."

"I know. We all have things happen in our lives that we regret, but we move on, seek new horizons. At some point everyone reinvents himself, you'll be doing that now. If you want to talk some more, we can meet in my office. Just promise you won't hit me so hard next time. I'm not a young man like you anymore!"

Kyle and Archie shared a laugh. Almost as if he were in a daze, the boy moved off when Archie released his arm. While Teresa watched Kyle exit the far end of the hallway, Archie pulled out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket to rub a trickle of blood from the side of his mouth.

Seeing his glasses on the floor, Teresa retrieved them. When she handed them back to Archie she got a good look at his face. She gazed into a pair of blue-green eyes. She froze then gasped.

_Patrick Jane's eyes!_

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote and recorded "How Do" in 1989 for her album, _State of the Heart_.


	3. Them There Eyes

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest in her series, "The Lovers."

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Them There Eyes

* * *

Archie Marbray smiled as he took the glasses from Teresa Lisbon's hand.

"Thank you very much, Teresa."

_After all the heartache, all the worry, it turns out Patrick Jane was right under my nose! I'm ashamed I didn't see through that fake English accent right off the bat. _

Teresa glared at him as a mix of emotions welled up inside her. Gratitude and anger. Elation and hurt. Relief and fury. She wondered why he hadn't sought her out. He was so close to her, in the very same small town she was in. What sort of long con was this that he was playing? And why did she have to be the one to stumble onto him?

"Teresa, shall we all go to the coffee shop? Teresa?" Cobb's words finally broke through to her. She looked over to him, then shifted back to glare at Archie.

"Yes, let's go over there. I want to hear more about _Archie_."

When they got to the coffee shop, only a half-dozen customers were there. At the counter, Cobb waved his hand for Teresa and Archie to put away their money. Paying the clerk, he handed a paper cup to each of them. The three walked over to several large cannisters filled with coffees and hot water.

"Not getting your usual this afternoon, Arch?"

Teresa could tell that Cobb was perplexed.

"What does he normally get?"

Archie had walked over to the cannister for one of the specialty coffee blends.

"This time of the afternoon is normally tea time for him."

"Interesting. Do you normally drink a lot of tea, _Archie_?"

He didn't turn to look at her but kept filling his cup with the coffee.

"I do drink tea. Far too much. I change up every now and then."

The three of them moved to a booth. Archie sat to the inside of Cobb on one side while Teresa sat by herself on the other.

"So, tell me about yourself, _Archie_."

Teresa's emotions had begun to coalesce around one in particular: anger.

"There's not much to tell. I'm just a college prof."

Teresa glared across the table at him.

_How dare he act so devil-may-care with me!_

A phone ringing broke her thoughts. Cobb dug in his pocket to retrieve his to answer it.

"Yes, Rho. I'll be right there." Cobb snapped his phone shut.

"Teresa, Arch. Rho needs me. Seems that donor she's working on has invited us out to dinner. I've got to run by my office and ditch this lab coat then meet up with them. Teresa, it was nice meeting you. I hope Rho and I see you again."

"I'd like that very much, Cobb." Really, Teresa did like the couple. They seemed like fine upstanding citizens. As for their friend though…

Cobb scooted out of the booth and took his leave. As soon as he was gone, Archie spoke.

"So you mentioned something about a consultancy."

_You're so glib. Urgh._

"I had thought about offering you a consultancy. It would have been like the one you had at CBI."

She had to give him credit for keeping his poker face when she mentioned CBI.

"Excuse me?"

"You can drop the guise, Jane. I'm so mad at you now I can't see straight. If this wasn't a public place I'd smash my fist in your face to wipe that smug look off it. Why didn't you call me, let me know you were here in Cannon River?"

"What? You have me at a complete disadvantage, Teresa. I'm afraid I'm not following this conversation at all."

Teresa's anger boiled over at his fake innocence.

"Stop it! Stop it this instant, you son of a bitch! You don't know how many nights I've lain awake worrying about you, where you were, how you were doing, if you were even still alive. And you were here all along, not two miles away. And you didn't even have the courtesy to get in touch with me. You can just go to hell, Patrick Jane."

She looked over at the man. He refused to drop out of character. In fact, he played it up even more. That wince on his face almost looked realistic. Almost. He held out his hands, palms up-turned.

"Teresa. Chief Lisbon. I'm unclear about this whole conversation."

Teresa shook with rage.

"Let me provide some clarity for you."

She noted with satisfaction how the coffee she threw in his face scored a direct hit. Liquid dripped from his curly locks down his face. Drops fell from the edge of his chin onto his white turtleneck, leaving a caramel-colored stain where they soaked into the fabric.

"Ma'am, I do not wish to be assaulted by either an expelled student or you. At least with Kyle I understood why he did what he did to me. Now is _not_ a good time for talk. Good day."

He got up, patted down his turtleneck with a napkin, and walked off.

Teresa stared at his backside as he disappeared out the door.

"I've got work to do, Patrick Jane. And you just added to it." She mumbled her words into the ether.

Slipping out of the booth, she stomped to her car.

* * *

Once back at the police station, Teresa shut the door of her office and began to access databases and websites on the federal, state, and local levels, public and private. For the next three hours she scoured the internet to find out all she could about Archie Marbray, or Dr. Archibald Marbray as the Deverell College website listed him. It was dark outside when she finally raised her head to look out the window.

Patrick Jane had done a thorough job, she had to admit. His Archie character had a convincing backstory. But she was still determined to crack the facade he had built up around him.

And after that what? What would she do? Arrest him? Certainly she could do that, and he'd rot away in prison.

_It would serve you right, you bastard._

Then the image of the old Patrick, the blond hair, the smile, the warm human being who touched her heart, seized her thoughts.

She lowered her head to the desk and wept.

* * *

Teresa woke the next morning, still at her desk. Raising her head, she looked around to see faint whispers of sunlight streaming through her window. With a sigh, she made her way to the locker room to shower and change into the business suit she left at the station for emergencies.

As she came out of the locker room she noticed that the day shift had come in. She smiled at the hustle and bustle until she looked at Henry. Actually, all she could see of Henry was tufts of his hair peeking out over a stack of files - a stack taller than any in her office.

"What's all this, Henry?" Teresa walked beside the young man, and the color drained from his face.

"I've been trying to work smarter, Chief. Just like you told me to. I took all my notes on the ATM suspects, typed them up, tabbed them to the evidence and photographs, organized them into these folders…"

When he said that, he swept his hand around to gesture to the stack of material. His hand went too far though and hit the stack. Teresa and Henry watched as it teetered. Then a few slips of paper from the file on top slipped out and floated to the floor. He reached down to pick them up just when the whole stack toppled over. A storm of forms and photos rained down on him.

Henry raised his head. With that mournful look that Teresa had come to expect from him, he said, "On it, Chief. I'll have this cleaned up and reorganized in a jiffy."

For the hundredth time around him, Teresa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

_We need help._

* * *

Teresa wheeled into the very same visitor parking spot at Deverell College that she'd pulled out of less than a day ago. Having looked up Archie's office address, she marched straight into his building, down the ground floor hallway, to stop at an office door marked, "Dr. Archie Marbray, Associate Professor."

Knock, knock, knock.

There was no answer.

Knock, knock, knock. "Professor Marbray. This is Ter-err-Chief Lisbon. Open up."

Still no answer.

Knock, knock, knock. "Jane? Are you in there? It's Lisbon."

Calling out "Jane" wasn't the right thing to do, but she couldn't help the anger that still boiled inside her.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you looking for Professor Marbray?"

Teresa turned around to see an older man in a janitor's uniform. His name tag said 'Claude.'

"Yes. I'm Chief Lisbon of the CRPD." She flashed her badge to him.

"It'll be a little bit before he shows up down here. He's probably still in his room."

"In his room?"

"Yes, ma'am. Archie, I mean Professor Marbray, lives upstairs."

Teresa looked around her. This seemed like a standard school building, a mix of classrooms and offices.

"Upstairs?"

"Yes, ma'am. This used to be a dormitory twenty years ago. Everything except the top floor got converted to academic use. It's closed off up there now except for Archie. He lives in one of the old dorm rooms."

Despite her still-simmering anger, Teresa laughed at the thought that old habits died hard for Patrick Jane. She shook her head.

"How do I get up there…" she looked again at his name tag, "…Claude?"

The janitor gestured toward an exit sign.

"The back stairway, Chief Lisbon. I'll show you."

* * *

Teresa stood in a barely lit hallway in front of a door marked "323." Taking a deep breath, she rapped her knuckle on the door three times. She heard rustling then feet tamping across a tile floor. The door began to swing open and she heard a now-familiar English accent.

"What's up, Claude?"

"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not Claude."

Seeing her, he raised his hands in front of his face.

"Come to throw more coffee at me?"

"No. I've come to talk. May I come in?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

Teresa brushed past him into the room. Once inside she stopped in shock. The room was even smaller and danker than the attic at CBI.

"You have even less space here than you did at CBI, Jane."

Archie nodded.

"Ahh, your old colleague, the chap I'm supposed to be."

Teresa wanted to slap that innocent look off his face.

"We all have to be someone. I guess you're Archie Marbray. _For now anyway_."

All of her law enforcement training over the years taught Teresa to be circumspect when dealing with the public and their personal property. The only exception was during an emergency situation. Now Teresa added a second situation - when it concerned Patrick Jane.

She walked over to his desk. The cover of the laptop was down. She flipped it up and the screen came to life - with an image of a camper's water filtration system. She flipped through the open web pages to find product descriptions of a tent, two backpacks, and a parka.

"You could have asked."

"Hmmm." Finding camping gear on his computer somehow made her angrier. "Then you don't mind if I look around, do you, _Archie_?"

"Thank you for asking. Go right ahead." He waved his hand around the breadth of the room and stood aside.

Teresa felt her stubbornness bubble up. She walked over to the closet and slid the door open. Along with the jackets, pants, and shoes were several turtlenecks. At the end of the rack she found one suit, a two-piece model. She lifted it out and turned to Archie.

"No three-piece suit?"

"I prefer a two-piece. If it's cold, I wear a sweater underneath. With my job, there's little occasion for a suit."

"Hmmm." She rehung the suit and turned to the counter in front of the mirror. Running her hand across the objects laying on it - shampoo bottle, comb, all the things you'd expect to find - she stopped when her fingers brushed across a tube. Picking up the tube, she chuckled and turned to Archie.

"Dying your hair, I see."

"You've discovered my secret, Chief."

Teresa reached over to finger one of the curls on his hair.

"And if you quit using hair dye, what would your color be?"

"Flecked with gray. My hair is no longer the solid shade of my youth. It's vanity on my part."

Teresa let go of his hair, only to snatch his glasses off his face. She looked over them.

"Hummm. They're reading glasses. The lowest power." After reading the label on the rim, Teresa turned the glasses over and over, looking for what? She didn't know. Something. Anything.

"Yes. Again, I'm not the man I was in my youth. I find it easier just to wear these all day - easier to keep track of them."

"Humph." Teresa looked back up at him and caught her breath. _Those eyes._ She was staring into Patrick Jane's eyes again, this time mere inches away. They crinkled as he grinned at her.

_Steady, girl. Steady, steady._

"Here are your glasses, Archie." She handed them back to him.

"Seen enough, Chief?"

"Not quite." She glanced over to his desk. "May I?"

Archie waved his hand.

"Go ahead, by all means."

Teresa opened each drawer to find…nothing out of the ordinary. Pens, papers, a photo of Archie and Cobb dressed in hiking gear in front of the sign for a state park. Then she opened the bottom drawer. She lifted out a box. Gloating, she waved it in front of his face.

"What's this?"

"Tea bags. A sampler pack. There's an array of six different varieties. Almost one for each day of the week."

"Yes!"

"Yes, what?"

"Patrick Jane drank tea all the time."

"Good for him. I do too. Well, I guess that proves your theory."

For the first time, Archie's words carried a tinge of bite. Teresa's hand that grasped the box stopped waving and slowly lowered.

_What have I done?_

She placed the box back in the desk drawer and shut it.

"I'm sorry. I have intruded on you in a way that you neither expected nor deserved as a citizen." The words stung as they came out of her mouth. For a moment she couldn't look up. But then she raised her face to look at him. She smiled, and that prompted him to return one of his own. She straightened her posture. "But I'm not wrong. You are Patrick Jane."

"Prove it." His defiant tone matched hers.

"I will, oh, I will."

"So I need to be looking over my shoulder all the time?" He crossed his arms although he was still smiling at her.

"I'll make it convenient for both of us."

"How's that?"

"Yesterday we were talking about your consulting for the police department."

"You mean before you threw coffee in my face?"

The memory of their altercation made her stomach churn.

"I'm sorry, Archie."

"You are?"

"I'm sorry for throwing coffee in your face. But I'm not sorry for calling you out as Patrick Jane."

"So, I guess I should accept your apology then."

Teresa softened her voice to a purr.

"I'd like it very much if you did. Would you?"

His breath caught and his face softened. For a fleeting instant he reminded Teresa of the small private moments they had shared long ago. A sense of longing for what had once been welled up in her heart.

"I would," he said in a whisper.

"Will you work part-time for us? You can work around your teaching schedule."

Archie beamed.

"I would enjoy that very much. It sounds like other consulting work I've done in the past."

"It does?" Teresa smirked as her mind wandered back to some more vivid cases at CBI.

"Yes. I've done some work with employers in screening job candidates and coaching them on their interview skills. I've also worked helping our students prepare to be interviewees. Is something like that what you had in mind?"

"Similar. When can you start?"

Archie rubbed his hands together with glee.

"How about tomorrow afternoon, Chief? My last class ends at noon. I can be over at the station at 1pm."

"Good. We'll get started then."

Teresa extended her hand to shake his. Archie took it, pumped it twice, then enveloped her in a hug. Almost as quick as he grasped her, he released her.

"Thank you! This sounds exciting. I can hardly wait."

"This works out well for me too. You'll help our department…and I'll have you close at hand while I go about proving that you're Patrick Jane."

Archie rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm looking forward to working for you, Chief."

"I'm looking forward to it as well. _Really _looking forward to it, Ja-, I mean, Archie."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey wrote "Them There Eyes" in 1930. Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song on her album _Ella and Basie_.


	4. Drives Me Crazy

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest in her series, "The Lovers."

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 4: Drives Me Crazy

* * *

At 12:59pm in the afternoon, Chief Teresa Lisbon, parking decal in hand, stood outside the Cannon River Police Station. As she tapped her foot on the pavement of the parking lot, tension mixed with curiosity consumed her. The so-called Professor Archibald Marbray said he would be there at 1:00pm. She was waiting but for what? A grand entrance in a familiar light blue vehicle?

She was so caught up in her thoughts that the late model Honda Civic that stopped beside her didn't draw her attention until she heard her name called out.

"Chief! Teresa! I hardly knew there would be a welcoming committee on my first day on the job. I'm flattered."

Shaken out of her reverie, Teresa gasped at what she saw. Archie was driving. She looked up and down the gray car and found…nothing. Nothing that distinguished it from other cars moving up and down the street.

"Don't flatter yourself, Archie. I wanted to give you your parking decal and show you where to park."

Archie unlocked the passenger door and Teresa got in.

"You could have had one of your minions do that, but you yourself came. I'm gratified."

Rather than answer him, she decided to stick to the topic at hand.

"The far side of the lot is where employees park. Nose your car over to that open space."

"Yes, ma'am."

As he moved the car to the employee section, she had another feeling of deja vu, of all the times that she and Patrick Jane had traveled somewhere in his old car.

Vaguely aware of the engine shutting off, she turned to Archie only to be blinded by the smile on his face. Even with his black-rimmed glasses on, his crinkling eyes made her heart skip a beat.

"This is certainly a come-down for you."

"What?"

"A Honda Civic instead of a Citroen DS."

His mouth formed in the shape of an O.

"That must be what your friend drove. A Citroen, huh. I must compliment him on his taste in cars. It's a classic."

Teresa scrunched her nose.

"Some people might think of it as a classic. I just thought it looked like a blue turtle, but that's a whole other story."

An awkward silence followed.

"Well, let's go into the station so I can get cracking at this new job." Archie rubbed his hands together with glee.

When they walked into the station, two of the younger officers approached.

"Dr. Truth!" Both the rookies, newly-minted Deverell College graduates, hurried over. They each shook his hand.

"The Chief told us at this morning's briefing that she'd hired a new consultant. We hadn't expected it'd be you!" one of them, a man said.

Archie grinned at Teresa before he responded.

"Good to see you again. Michaela Hinks and Warrick Albury, am I right?" They both nodded. "I can see Chief Lisbon hires only the best talent."

The woman and the man both had their own grins plastered over their faces when they heard that.

"Well, before he can get started solving cases, we've got to make him official. Professor Marbray, come with me." Teresa tapped his arm for him to follow her.

Out of earshot of anyone else, Archie spoke.

"They're good kids, Teresa. I think they'll be well-suited as officers."

Teresa stopped walking to look at Archie. What she saw was pure sincerity in his eyes. She nodded.

"You do seem to care about your students."

"Is that so bad? To want to see the people you work with succeed in life? To better themselves?"

"I think that's admirable, Archie." She nodded. "You know, back when you were Patrick Jane you were so consumed in your quest for Red John that a lot of the time that's the only thing in the world you cared about. To the detriment of everything and everyone else. I always thought there was more to you. I'm glad I've gotten to see it."

Archie sighed as he shook his head.

"Ah. Patrick Jane again. The chap I'm supposed to be."

Teresa smiled. They began their walk down the hallway again.

"Correction. The man I'll prove you to be."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you told me that was part of the terms of this job, and I accepted them. I suppose it adds an edge to the work, an excitement. Doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does."

When they got to the last door on the left, Teresa opened the door to reveal another young person, a man in a furious battle with a jumble of cables and wires that jutted out from a machine.

Teresa sighed and raised her fingers to rub the bridge of her nose.

"Henry? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, ma'am. I'm just trying to get the machine set up like you wanted me to. Almost there."

Teresa turned to find Archie studying the scene before him.

"A lie detector, huh. Kind of like a mechanical version of me!"

She didn't like the chuckle she heard under his breath one bit.

"It is. I'm going to have Henry use it on you."

"You know they're not admissible in court."

"Who said anything about taking you to court? At least yet. I just want to try it out on you."

Now Archie's chuckle got louder, much to her dismay.

"Go ahead. I look forward to revealing my deepest, darkest secrets. Well, except for how I really think the Deverell baseball team will do this year."

Anger welled up in Teresa.

"Ha, ha. While Henry connects the wires and cables, _and he will be finished with that in fifteen minutes…"_ She scowled at her officer. "…come with me to my office Professor and I'll get your fingerprints."

Like an obedient puppy, he followed her next door to her inner office.

"Don't you have to do a background check on me?"

"I did that for three hours after we met the other day."

"Before we reached agreement about the job?"

Teresa smirked.

"I was checking for other reasons."

"Patrick Jane again?"

"You're catching on quick, _Archie_."

As they walked into her office, she noticed him stop to scan the contents of the room.

"Recognize any familiar items from my old office." She wondered if he would take the bait.

He chuckled.

"I'm looking around to get a sense of who you are, Teresa."

She had to admit he was doing a good job of not responding to any of her prompts.

"And what do you see, Dr. Truth?"

"More of what I've already seen. A skilled professional, one who's a natural leader…and someone with a playful and engaging nature that she often feels the need to keep hidden due to the demands of her job."

Once more this man caused a mix of emotions in her. Anger and appreciation, annoyance and affection all balled up in one chaotic blend. On top of everything else he smiled at her again. _That_ smile.

"I have to keep my personal life second. I'm the face of law enforcement in Cannon River."

"And a very pleasing face I might add."

Teresa had to turn away from his intense gaze. She sat behind the desk and motioned for him to sit in the guest chair. From a drawer she pulled out the finger printing kit.

"You don't mind having your prints taken?"

"No. Please go ahead. My fingers are at your disposal, Teresa." He flexed them in front of her eyes.

When she grasped his fingers, she felt her heart skip a beat again. And what about Archie's reaction? Did she hear his breath catch?

_Best for me to put those thoughts away in a far corner of my mind._

As quickly as she could, she got his prints and stored the sample. Despite herself, she smiled back at Archie.

"Let's go next door and see if Henry has his equipment set up."

* * *

Two hours later…

Henry looked over at his boss once more.

"Chief, it's the same result. He passed. Again. He is who he says he is."

Teresa glowered at the scene before her. On one side of the table Henry held aloft a printout from the lie detector. On the other side Archie sat with his arms crossed. The hint of smugness etched across his face incensed her.

"Do it again, Henry."

"But Chief. We've done it three times already. The same result each…"

She tapped the toe of her shoe on the floor loud enough for both men to hear.

"No 'buts.' Recheck the calibration before you start again."

"Henry, don't feel bad. I don't mind. By all means, go ahead and test me again like Chief Lisbon wants."

Henry sighed then looked over at Archie.

"Okay, Professor Marbray. I need you to give me a false statement."

Teresa moved over beside Henry so she could study Archie's eyes as he replied.

"It was snowing outside when I walked into the police station."

"Another please, sir."

"I like teaching an 8am class."

Henry laughed.

"So teachers hate those things too!"

"Keep going, Henry. Don't get distracted." It occurred to Teresa that now she sounded like a teacher, one scolding her class.

"One more please."

Archie stared back at her while he answered Henry.

"Teresa Lisbon comes from an all-girl family. Only sisters."

After her next words came out of her mouth Teresa realized that her haste betrayed her:

"Ha. You knew I only had brothers!"

Now Archie's smile curled into something that looked way too close to a smirk.

"Anyone who spent 30 seconds glancing at the photos in your office would see you had brothers. As an aside, I spent more than 30 seconds looking at your whole office including your photos."

Infuriated, Teresa made a rolling motion with her hand at Henry.

"Keep going, finish the calibration on Professor Marbray."

With a shrug of his shoulders, her officer turned back to him.

"Okay. Professor, please give me a true statement."

"I think Teresa Lisbon is a beautiful woman."

Now it was Henry's turn to smirk. For her part, Teresa couldn't bring herself to look any more at either man.

"Another true statement please sir."

"Chief Lisbon's green eyes bewitch me."

She heard Henry start laughing.

_This is not going at all like I planned._

"One more, Professor."

"I like the blush that comes across her face just like right now."

Teresa pivoted, walked out of the room, and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall to get herself under control.

_He drove me crazy before and he drives me crazy now!_

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Dolly Parton recorded "Drives Me Crazy" for her album _Backwoods Barbie. _It is a cover version of the Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" written by Roland Gift and David Steele.

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	5. Call Me Irresponsible

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "The Real You, Huh." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: "Call Me Irresponsible"

* * *

_The next day…_

Teresa Lisbon looked across her desk at the figure seated at the corner table in her office. As soon as his morning classes had ended, Archie Marbray scurried over to the police station. Taken by surprise with his eagerness, she saw him plop down at the table like a child awaiting a brand new toy. She had Henry bring a stack of thirty case files to him.

The sight of Archie scanning the contents of the files filled her with wonder. For the most part, he gave a quick scan of each file and put it in one of three piles. Once in a while, he would stop to linger on the contents of a particular file. He would grunt or shake his head, bring his fingers to his lips, and only then put it in a pile.

After an hour of deep concentration, Archie pushed his chair back from the table and stood. Stretching out his arms, he looked at her.

"Invigorating, Teresa!"

She scrunched up her nose at his choice of word.

"Invigorating?"

"Yes. These are like a puzzle, aren't they? Well, a few of them anyway."

"Enlighten me, Professor."

Archie swept up the stack of files from the left edge of the table and deposited them on her desk.

"First let's dispense with these files. They're ready to go. I've made some notes. You can give these to your officers to make the arrests."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"These are easy. I'm sure your officers would discern the guilty party at some point. I just helped them along the way."

Teresa pulled out a sheet of paper from her desk drawer. Picking up each of the folders that Archie had put on her desk, she compared them to the sheet. When she finished, she looked up.

"You're good. All of these were ringers. Ones we've already solved."

"So you wasted my time." He crossed his arms, and she couldn't miss the scowl that crossed his expression.

"It was a test."

"Ah, testing the professor. Did I pass?"

"Yes."

"Good. Does that mean we can go over the other files now?"

Despite the tinge of anger that still lingered within her since she first met "Archie," she grinned as she waved her hand.

"Proceed."

Yet again he rubbed his hands together with glee.

"These remaining files I've separated into two piles. Files on the right are ones where I have a strong suspicion of whodunit but it will take some specific investigation to confirm. Ones in the other pile will require more work. Not that I'm saying they're unsolvable, just that they'll take more work."

"Tell you what, Archie. I don't have any appointments this afternoon. You pick the case you think you can solve the quickest, and you and I will go investigate."

His face lit up.

"Really?"

"Really."

"I can go out with you into the field?"

"Yes, just like I used to take Patrick Jane with me at CBI."

He ran his fingers across several files, then pulled out one.

"How about this one? The theft of a vintage Corvette."

"Ah. Good choice."

"Teresa, I think we can solve the case this afternoon. I just need to talk with the wife and the accountant."

She was already slipping on her coat as he talked. The tingle of anticipation coursed through her body. For a moment she let her mind return to the thrill of working with Patrick Jane. Despite herself, she chuckled.

"Let's go."

* * *

_One hour later…_

Teresa and Archie sat in silence in the police cruiser. With her hands gripped like a vise around the steering wheel, she took several deep breaths before looking at Archie.

"You're the same, you know that?"

"Are you saying that my methods resemble those of the Jane chap?"

The urge to slap him welled up inside her again.

"After talking with us, the wife wants to sue the department. You know good and well that's how you used to do things. You say something provocative that upsets everyone."

"You mean something that's true."

Teresa let herself relax, loosening the grip on the steering wheel.

"Yes, you say something that is undoubtedly true, but you say it in a way sure to stir up trouble."

"And produce results I might add."

"I would warn you about doing that, but you know that already."

"Could we concentrate on the case, Teresa?"

_Now Jane or Professor Marbray or Archie or whatever he wants to call himself today is the voice of reason and I'm the one at loose ends?_

Despite herself, she smiled.

"I'll send some officers down to the lumber yard to check out the equipment shed."

Archie crossed his arms and puffed out his chest.

"And that's where you'll find the Corvette."

"So you say. Now tell me, how did you know the wife and the accountant were having an affair?"

"They both held a grudge against the husband. That united them, and nature seemed to take its course as well. And you saw when I was talking with the wife how evasive she was about her travel plans. The wife and the accountant have been planning to run off together. What I can't figure out yet is whether they planned to drive off in the Corvette to spite the husband or sell it for funds. Minor detail. One of the two of them will spill that detail when pressed."

Calm again, Teresa let herself relax in the driver's seat. What Archie had done was so _Jane_-like, so effective she had to give him his due. She looked over to find him looking back at her. As if in sync, they began to chuckle at the same time.

"So how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"To be solving cases. I'd say to be solving cases _again_ but you'd just deny it."

"Teresa, this is energizing. This is the most fun I've had in ages."

"I'll bet. You're in your element, you know."

"It certainly feels that way."

Both sat back in a wordless quiet, something else that reminded her of the intimate moments of kinship shared with Jane.

"I'm still working on your case, you know." She glanced over at him.

"What?"

"My project to prove that you're Patrick Jane."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"You told me that's part of the deal."

"You've done a fine job of creating your new identity, and I knew before I had Henry strap you up to the lie detector that you would outfox that machine."

He snorted as his eyes narrowed.

"I passed each time, and yet now you say you knew all along that I would. You wouldn't believe anything I said as being true. In other words you spent two-and-a-half hours of Henry's, yours, and my time on an outcome you claimed to know in advance. That hardly seems effective."

She laughed.

"I wanted to watch you, to see if I could figure out how you'd defeat the machine."

"And what did you find, Teresa?"

"That you're still a step ahead of me."

He shook his head.

"I guess no matter how many tests I pass, no matter how many checks you do, nothing will resolve things. Is that how it is? If it is, then I must be the world's greatest con artist."

Pride or something else deep inside her wouldn't let her respond directly.

"One thing I admire in particular is your fingerprints. I still haven't figured out how you beat that one."

Archie laughed.

"Fingerprints, lie detectors, resumes. Nothing will ever be good enough for you."

"I know I should never say this to you, that I should still want to slam my fist in your nose, but I'm enjoying this. Heaven help me but I'm enjoying this."

"As am I, Teresa."

Something about the way he pronounced her name just then was different. The only other person she'd ever heard say it that way was…

When she looked over at Archie, she found his gaze directed not at her but at something down the street. His mouth had dropped open in surprise.

"What?"

"There's the wife climbing over that fence at the end of the block. And she's carrying a suitcase. Something's wrong though. She's still perched on top of the fence."

Teresa directed her attention at the woman.

"She's stuck! And she's still trying to carry the suitcase."

"Not anymore."

The woman dropped the case to the ground, and on impact it popped open from the pressure of its contents. Clothes of all sorts fell around it. Still caught in the fence, the woman turned upside down as she tried to extract herself. As soon as she freed herself, though, she crashed headfirst onto the grass below.

Teresa and Archie couldn't control themselves and burst out in loud guffaws. She looked over and saw his flushed face. He pointed his finger as spasms of laughter broke apart his speech.

"Look…down…the…street…Teresa. Here…comes…the…Corvette…with…the…accountant."

Teresa heard the accountant shout to the wife to get in the car. What he got back was a series of curses and a demand that he come help her repack the suitcase. Getting out of the car, he pleaded with her to no avail. Soon both were trying and failing to cram all the clothes back in the case. A war of words erupted between the two as the wife berated the man.

Teresa and Archie had both laughed so hard that now they were wiping the wetness from the sides of their eyes. Almost in unison, they drew in deep breaths to get control again.

"Archie, I hate to ruin such good entertainment, but we're gonna have to go confront those two."

She heard him sigh.

"I know, but it surely was fun to watch, wasn't it."

"Indeed." Teresa fired up the engine and hit the siren lights. She eased the squad car down the street until they were parallel with the fleeing couple. She lowered her window to address the pair. "Sir, ma'am, we need to talk."

As they got out of the squad car to question the pair, Archie spoke once more to Teresa.

"By the way, I meant what I said when Henry was calibrating the machine."

* * *

When Archie came in the next day, Teresa had a budget meeting with the city council. What to do with him? She decided to send him out with Officers Hinks and Albury - his former students - to follow up on another case he had flagged as simple to solve.

After the meeting, Teresa sat in her office wondering about Archie. He wasn't back yet, and a sense of unease fell over her. Another feeling surfaced as well: a longing to be with him, near him, regardless of what it was they were doing. Then yet another thought crowded into her mind - what Archie had said about her during the lie detector test. What had been a shock at the time turned into a pleasant memory now, one that warmed her as she recalled his compliments, even his remark about her blushing.

Commotion in the hallway broke her reverie. She looked up to see Henry hurry past her doorway carrying a first aid kit, a towel, and a compress.

"Henry! What's up?"

She couldn't get his attention so she walked out in the hallway only to see his backside disappear into the station lobby. Following him she stopped when she saw the scene before her. One of the jailers was leading a handcuffed man back to a detention cell while Hinks, Albury, and Henry crowded around someone sitting on a wooden bench. When she reached the three officers they moved aside for her. There in front of her sat Archie, the compress and towel pressed against the side of his face. Seeing that his situation was not life-threatening, she looked over to Hinks and Albury.

"What happened to Professor Marbray?"

"The car theft suspect, a Mr. Smith, punched him." Hinks gave her usual crisp report.

Albury finished the story: "Dr. Truth was really going after the guy, taunting him. And it worked too. When Smith punched him, he got carried away talking and said enough we can make an air-tight case against him. I'm sorry the professor got hurt though."

Teresa started laughing, and her three officers stared at her with perplexed looks.

"Chief, do you really think it's funny?" asked Hinks.

Before she could reply, she heard a groan followed by someone else's response.

"Chief Lisbon has every right to laugh because it _is_ funny. A pompous professor getting his comeuppance? It's a classic story." Archie's good cheer spread to the others as he talked. "I'm not hurt bad. I should have ducked sooner. Must be getting old!"

Teresa turned her attention back to Archie on the bench. Putting her hands on her knees, she lowered her face to his level.

"Lemme see what the damage is."

When he hesitated, she reached out to peel the compress from his face. Then her laughter returned with a vengeance. She was staring at the biggest black eye she had seen since when? Since the last time Patrick Jane had gotten one back at CBI?

"I'll be okay, Teresa. Really I will."

"I know you will, Archie. I'm just glad you weren't hurt worse. You'll have quite a story to tell your class tomorrow. Do you think they'll believe where you got your shiner?"

"You know, if they thought I got it in a barroom brawl that might enhance my reputation." He tried to manage a smile but what formed on his lips looked closer to a grimace.

"Come back to my office and you can lie down on the couch."

When the words left her mouth she froze for a moment. A smile stretched across her lips at the memory of Jane on her couch at CBI.

Patting Archie on the back to get him to stand, she turned to her officers.

"I'll take care of Professor Marbray. I suspect you have some paperwork to tend to."

"Yes ma'am," her two rookie officers replied in unison.

Leading Archie down the hall, she directed him to her couch. It pleased her to see him light on it like it was second nature to him.

Seeing him relax, she settled back behind her desk to plow through her own paperwork. After twenty minutes, Archie roused himself to shift into a sitting position.

Keeping her gaze on the computer screen on her credenza, she spoke.

"Will you be ready to go at it tomorrow?" For an instant, dread filled her that he might say "no" and not come back.

"I'm not going to let a little thing like a black eye deter me, Teresa. I love this work."

"Good. I'd hate to see you disappear. _Again."_ She couldn't help herself when she put "again" at the end.

"I was thinking about something new though."

"What's that?"

"It would go beyond the scope of our original agreement."

Teresa swiveled her chair around to face Archie.

"What?"

"In addition to what you're having me do now, what if I held some workshops for your officers. More like a class instead of one-on-one, case-by-case work. Think about it - it would magnify my impact."

"Workshops on what?"

"Stuff that would be useful to them in the field. You know, things like human behavior, observational skills, game theory."

The last item piqued Teresa's interest in particular.

"Game theory?"

"Yes. There's actually a nice body of research on how game theory applies to law enforcement."

"And you would be willing to do that?"

"I would. I'd do it for you, Teresa."

"A mentoring program, hmmm. Patrick Jane never did anything like that in all the time I worked with him."

"There you go! It would give me a leg up on that fellow. Something he never did for you."

"Plus, you run less risk of getting punched in the face."

Archie smiled.

"There's that too."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn wrote "Call Me Irresponsible" in 1962. Michael Bublé recorded the song for his album of the same name.


	6. It's A Good Day

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "Could Be." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: "It's A Good Day"

* * *

The next day…

Teresa couldn't concentrate as she sat at her desk trying to work. Instead of making headway on her monthly report to the mayor, she found herself glancing at the door of her office every two minutes.

_Where is Archie?_

The mixed feelings she had toward the man stirred once again. So what if he was running 20 minutes late? It wasn't like she controlled his every action. As if anyone could control Patrick Jane or Archie or Professor Marbray or whoever he was today.

And yet, there she was longing to see him appear in her doorway. She sighed.

Just when she was about to walk to the parking lot to check if his car was there, she heard two familiar voices in the hallway.

"…Okay, Henry, put that in the Chief's office on the side table."

"Yes sir, Professor."

Henry lurched into the office as he battled the shifting weight in a cardboard box he carried. Whatever objects were in the box were heavy. They thudded against the sides as he fought to keep his balance. Aiming for the table, he almost made it. Almost. The masking tape across the bottom of the box gave way and a dozen books crashed to the floor. The pointed corner of one book, obviously a college textbook because of its huge size, fell on Henry's right foot.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee-yaooooooooooooow." The remains of the box dropped to the floor as Henry yelped in pain. He clutched his foot with both hands and started hopping around the office.

Movement at the doorway shifted Teresa's attention from her injured officer. Archie sauntered in, and the sight of him made her breath catch. As a grimace-faced Henry bounced back-and-forth around him, Archie stood still, a freshly-pressed tweed jacket on his shoulders and a smile for Teresa on his lips. He was wearing his white turtleneck again.

_Oh my._

Archie put his hand on the young officer's arm to still him.

"Don't worry, Henry. The books aren't hurt. You can just set them on the back of the table."

"Ah-ah-ah." Nothing coherent came from Henry's mouth.

"It's okay. Really it is. Take your time, Henry." He patted him on the shoulder before he turned his attention to Teresa. "My you're looking lovely today, Chief."

"Thank you. You as well. I see you brought a whole library with you."

Archie looked around at the books scattered across the floor while Henry now leaned against the wall, pulling his shoe and sock off his right foot.

"Most of the time I carry my books around on my Kindle e-reader, but for what I use in class I still prefer a hard copy. It was fortunate that I ran into young Henry here as he was on his way out. Good thing I got him to help me with these heavy books."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee-yaooooooooooooow." Henry screamed out again when his fingers grasped his swollen big toe.

"So, are you going to share with me what your lesson plan for my officers is?"

"I've been working on that ever since I left the station yesterday, Teresa. Why don't I buy you a cup of coffee in the break room and we can go over my ideas."

She beamed.

"I'd like that very much, Archie." She circled around the desk to join him. As Teresa passed by Henry, still massaging his foot, she spoke to him. "While Professor Marbray and I are having coffee, get that spare laptop computer out of storage and set it up on the table. Oh, and bring the printer along with it. Archie, I mean_ Professor Marbray_, may need it."

"Ah-ah-ah."

"I'll take that as a 'yes, ma'am' from you. Thanks, Henry."

"Ah-ah-ah."

"Ready to go, my dear?"

"Yes, I am."

Archie and Teresa walked out, leaving Henry leaning against the wall moaning.

* * *

Teresa and Archie decided that he would devote Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to his "classes" for the police force. They were a hit with everyone from the start. Teresa found some money in the budget to get a few materials for her officers, and she smiled whenever she saw Henry or someone else toting around a book titled _Modern Concepts in Human Behavior_ or _Game Theory, Strategy, and the Real World_.

One Thursday afternoon she had just reentered the building when she heard a mix of raucous laughter and cries of anguish coming from the break room.

"Ah, lost again. And this time I had two pair, Jack-high."

"My friends, harken back to that old Kenny Rogers song, 'The Gambler.' It's all in the art of reading people, knowing when you can advance your agenda. Of course, you have to take calculated risks."

Walking into the room, Teresa saw four people seated around a formica-top table: Officers Michaela Hinks, Warrick Albury, Henry Karson - and Archie. Playing cards and poker chips littered the table. On coming closer, she decided that "littered" was not the right term for the chips. Hinks and Albury each had five chips in front of them, and Henry had only one forlorn white one that he fidgeted with in his hands. All of the other poker chips sat in neat stacks on Archie's side of the table.

Teresa strolled over to Archie as he twisted around to address her.

"Chief, good to see you! It was a slow afternoon around the station so we have delved more deeply into my lesson on the strategy of bluffing."

Looking at her three officers she saw the same glum expression on all three faces. Teresa put her hand on Archie's shoulder which prompted him to look up at her with his most angelic grin. She glanced at him before turning her attention back to her officers.

"I'm happy Professor Marbray has provided you with such a vivid demonstration. We're all grateful to him for his expert guidance. Thank you, Professor, for teaching us in the most pain-free way possible. Did he mention to you that this was just a simulation, not a real game? You don't owe him any money."

Archie's grin evaporated. At the same time, Teresa heard three different sighs come from the far corners of the table.

"I've still got my paycheck!"

"Thanks, Professor! I really learned a lot today."

"Let's do this again some time. This is fun, especially if there's no money on the line!"

Hinks and Albury walked off while Henry swept the chips and cards into a box. Once he had them stowed away, he too left. Teresa took an empty seat next to Archie.

"It wasn't _that_ much money, Teresa."

"If it wasn't much money then you won't miss it. Besides, you're living in an abandoned dorm room so that's a giveaway right there that you're not especially motivated by material things. _At least nowadays_."

He waved his hand around the now empty surface of the table. "You've transformed this session into a _real_ Tragedy of the Commons."

She chortled.

"'Tragedy of the Commons,' huh. Nice attempt at using a game theory term to make a joke."

He raised an eyebrow.

"So you do something about game theory."

"Some. _I_ actually went to college."

"What do you mean by that?"

Teresa decided it was her turn to be inscrutable.

"I'll let you figure that out, Mr. College Professor." She tugged his sleeve. "In the meantime, come with me down to my office. I've got my own contest we can wager on."

* * *

"There goes your last Pawn," Teresa said as she used her Queen to capture the sole remaining Pawn on the board. She removed the wooden chess piece and added it to her collection of twelve others standing beside the board. A smile crept across her face.

"So it would appear," replied Archie. "I must compliment you. You've done much better than I expected."

A circle of light in her office encased the pair. Beyond them was darkness. Only occasional muffled noises from down the hall broke the silence. The day shift had long since gone home, and the skeleton crew at night made few sounds.

"You know, someone could take what you just said the wrong way, Archie." She watched him move his own Queen nearer to his King.

"Someone else, but not you."

"I'll choose to ignore that whiff of arrogance," she said as she moved her Knight to a new position.

"It's not arrogance, Teresa. It's cold hard fact. Chess is a game of strategy which naturally appeals to me. Besides, you stirred my competitive urges when you had us bet on the game."

"So the hope of a free dinner has driven you to hang on in the game this long?" She snorted. "May I remind you of my earlier statement about your living in an abandoned dorm room."

"If anyone is hanging on as you put it, it's you." He held his hand on his Bishop, then moved it two spaces on the diagonal.

"I'll offer you a draw again, Archie." She didn't look at the board but rather at his face. "Truthfully, I hadn't expected to last this long in a game with you."

"And I'll refuse you again. Just because we have the same forces left…"

"Not exactly the same."

"Alright, you've got your Queen and one Knight. I've got my Queen and one Bishop. Chess experts would say we are evenly matched."

"And hence I offer you a draw."

"No, Teresa, you vexing woman."

She felt a tingle run through her entire body.

"I'll take that as a compliment coming from you, Archie. Am I vexing because of how this game has turned out?" She moved her Queen again.

His "poker face" left him for the briefest of moments, but not brief enough to escape her notice. She laughed, which prompted a scowl from him.

"Teresa…"

"Archie, I just saw your 'tell.' This whole situation with the chess game has upset you." The smile on her face grew bigger. "The old Patrick Jane was a chess master. What happened? Did my eyes bewitch you?"

"It's just, just…" Archie sputtered.

"Chess is a game of perfect information," she said after she noted the blush that came over his face.

"Perfect information? You do know your game theory, Teresa."

"Yes, and card games like poker and blackjack are games of imperfect information."

His attention switched from the chess board to her.

"Impressive!"

"See, I actually learned something in college. I studied game theory in an economics class."

"OK, what's the difference between perfect information and imperfect information."

"So the professor is testing me?"

"Yes. Think of it as an essay test but without all that pesky writing."

"In a card game like poker, _some_ information may be known by all players, like a card turned over to be visible to everyone. On the other hand, each player has his or her own cards hidden from the other players. That's imperfect information. By the way, that's a situation where the abilities of a Patrick Jane - or an Archie Marbray - excel."

"May I remind you that you haven't beaten me in chess yet?"

"Yes, and I compliment you on your ability to stay in this game even though it doesn't _seem_ to play to your natural strengths. Like I said, Jane was a chess master." Teresa loved this back-and-forth, she had missed it so long. She didn't care if he was intentionally losing, she reveled in simply matching wits with him.

"You know, someone could take that the wrong way, Lisbon," Archie said as he moved his King.

"_Lisbon_, huh. I am having an effect on you. Must be the eyes. Anyway, chess isn't like poker - or a murder case. At all times in chess both players see exactly the same thing. Nothing on the board is hidden." Lisbon lifted her Knight off the board and set it down with a loud thud in a new position.

"But I still have my data warehouse in my mind."

"Data warehouse? You sure sound like a college professor. Patrick Jane used to call that his memory palace."

"I suspect your old friend and I are referring to the same concept."

"Data warehouse, memory palace - it doesn't matter as much here as it would in a game like poker. In chess all that really matters at any instant is what the board looks like then." She moved her Queen toward the corner where his King was.

"Check, Teresa!" Archie moved his Bishop onto the same diagonal as her King, then lifted his eyes to see her reaction. She made sure that all he got in return was another vexing grin. With flick of her wrist, Teresa moved her Knight in front of her King to block the attack of his Bishop.

"Sigh." Her sigh carried with it a hint of bemusement. She could see that it rankled him. He pulled his Bishop back one space, and she answered with another move of her Queen.

"You just like this game because the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board."

She wouldn't bite at that provocation.

"That does have its allure, but I like that you and I both see the entire board. It's that perfect information thingy I was talking about."

"How will you deal with this move?" Archie moved _his_ Queen two spaces.

"Like this. Check," said Teresa as she moved her Queen in front of his King.

"There." Without hesitation, He moved his own Queen to block the attack.

"Good," Teresa moved her Queen to capture his. She grabbed his piece off the board and set it with a loud thunk of triumph at the side, joining the other thirteen pieces already there.

Archie lifted his eyes from the board to stare at her. She laughed. Now truly vexed, he in turn captured her Queen with his own King and set the piece aside with a thunk of exasperation.

"Why did you do that? Besides our Kings, now all you have left is your Knight and all I have left is my Bishop. Neither of us can win the game."

"Precisely, Archie."

"Well, that draw you kept offering is a reality now."

"And I'm looking forward to your buying my dinner."

"We drew, Teresa. It's a tie. Neither of us won or lost. The way I see it, we each pay our own way."

"Think again, Arch. Consult that data warehouse of yours." Teresa reached across the table to tap the side of his head, then tug on a lock of his hair for good measure. "By the way, I like Jane's old term 'memory palace' better, but call it what you will."

"We said whoever won would buy dinner…" his voice trailed off. His brow wrinkled.

"Before we started the game, you said and I quote, 'If I win, you'll buy me dinner, Teresa; otherwise, I'll buy yours.'"

"I did say that."

"And you didn't win, did you, Archie?"

"Neither did you, Teresa."

"I didn't have to win. 'Otherwise' meant me not losing. A win _or_ a draw qualifies."

His shoulders slumped, then he shook his head.

"You're right."

"Of course I am."

"You were playing for a draw all along."

"Yes, Archie, because for me to draw meant to win."

"Huh. Didn't win yet still won." Archie patted her hand.

"One more thing. You're gonna take me to dinner some place nice, some place with good food. My definition of nice means something other than a place where we roll down the car window to shout our order at an intercom disguised as a clown."

Archie stood and offered Teresa his hand, which she took to help herself up from her seat. At the same time, he lifted her jacket off the back of the chair. Helping her on with it, he let his hand rest on her arm. She looked over her shoulder. Their eyes met, and she couldn't help but notice the sparkle in his gaze.

"My dear Teresa, I'm thinking that we should try my favorite eatery in town, Nan's Place. There's no drive-thru there. We'd actually walk inside and sit down. Tablecloth, metal cutlery, soft music in the background - the whole works. How does that sound?"

Teresa of course knew she had her own "tell." In this case it was the dimpled smile stretched across her face.

"Perfect, Archie."

* * *

In her thirty years of owning and running Nan's Place, Nandini Feller had come to know her regulars well. And no one was more regular than Police Chief Teresa Lisbon. Except for Professor Archie Marbray. It shocked her when the two of them walked in together. Nan made it a point to seat them at a table in the back where they'd be undisturbed.

As Nan made her way to their table with fresh Earl Grey tea bags and a pot of steaming water, she noticed that Teresa had gotten up from the table to take a cell call. Seeing an opportunity to talk to Archie alone, she took it.

"You know, since you two are eating together, it's made things a lot easier for me."

Archie flashed that blinding smile of his at her.

"How's that, Nan?"

"Of all my customers, you're the only two who ever ordered hot tea."

"Huh. Teresa ordered hot tea?"

"Don't give me that innocent look, Archie. You observe enough stuff that goes on around you that you knew that."

That got him. He glanced away from Nan for a moment.

"I guess you can observe a lot too."

"Yeah, and I don't have that fancy doctorate degree like you do."

Nan believed what she said. She had learned enough from waiting tables to read people. Maybe not as good as Archie, but she could still see things. Right now something she saw in Archie that surprised her. When she mentioned his degree, for half a second she saw him squirm in his seat. She chalked it up to her talking about him and the Chief.

"Well, Nan, iced tea and coffee are good too, but hot tea is best."

Nan did something she only did with regulars, people she felt comfortable with. And she felt comfortable with both Archie and Teresa.

"I'm glad you finally got up the courage to meet Teresa."

"What?"

"After all those times you were in here, staring across the restaurant at her, looking at her like she was some long-lost treasure you could never reach. I was fixing to slap you on the side of the head the next time I saw you doing that. I was gonna drag you over by your shirt collar to meet her, but lo-and-behold you walk through the front door with her. Someone finally grew a pair."

Nan heard the biggest laugh she'd ever heard from Archie.

"Believe it or not she met up with me."

Out of the corner of her eye, Nan saw Teresa making her way back to the table. She took one last opportunity to speak to him in private.

"Teresa's a nice lady. You be good to her. She only deserves the best."

His face softened.

"You're right, Nan. So, so right. I've never met anyone like her."

Teresa walked up to the table.

"Sorry to wander off. Turned out it wasn't an emergency." She looked at the table then Nan. "More tea. Excellent!"

As Nan left she glanced back as they resumed their conversation. The tinkle of Teresa's laugh made Nan smile.

_Those two make a sweet couple._

* * *

Author's notes:

Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour wrote "It's A Good Day" in 1947, and Ms. Lee's recording of the song is available on many compilation albums such as _The Best of Miss Peggy Lee_. Give it a listen! It's a fun song that will bring a smile to your face.

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	7. The Closer You Get (The Further I Fall)

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "Could Be." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: "The Closer You Get (The Further I Fall)"

* * *

"You should try the salmon tonight, Teresa. I had it last Tuesday."

"I noticed. So you liked it, Archie?"

"Almost as much as the mapati you recommended yesterday."

Since their "chess night," Teresa and Archie had eaten together frequently, in fact most days. It quickly became second nature that they would conclude their day's work at the police station and traipse over to Nan's for food and further conversation.

And what conversations they had! The topics ranged from grifters to graduation rates, from online scams to online courses, from conmen to complexity theory. Archie held a cynic's view of life, albeit one leavened by charm and good nature that enchanted Teresa.

Archie was the Patrick Jane that she had always hoped to see one day.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

On a Monday morning with ten pages of computer printouts cradled under her arm, Teresa Lisbon stared at the now familiar door of Archie's faculty office. The excitement, the pure joy that coursed through her body had propelled her out of her office, into her car, and across town to Deverell College. Even though Archie was scheduled to be at the police station that afternoon, she couldn't wait to see him.

"Ah, Teresa, it's always a pleasure when you come by here."

She heard shuffling on the other side of the door.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I recognized your distinctive rapping on the door."

Archie opened the door to let her in.

"I thought you had office hours right now."

"I do."

"Then why was the door closed?"

"To keep out the riff-raff."

"So, I guess I'm not part of the riff-raff?" She smiled at the thought that Archie might treat her different from an anxious student or a blowhard faculty colleague.

"Never were, never will be. You're always welcome." She could feel him studying her face. "Something's gotten you all excited, I can tell by your expression. Something so big you couldn't wait until this afternoon to tell me. If that's the case, I'm excited too."

"Let's walk over to the coffee shop. I want to show you these." She pointed to the printouts.

Archie got a sly look on his face.

"Do you remember the last time you and I went there? You threw coffee on my face."

She dropped her head in sorrow at the memory.

"What if I promise I won't throw anything at you again?"

He was already slipping his coat on as she spoke.

"Anything for you, Teresa. Lead on."

* * *

Once they had settled into a booth, Teresa spread the printouts in front of Archie.

"I wanted you to see what you've done."

"Ah, crime statistics."

"Our case-closed rates have improved across the board since you've started working with the department. Look at how the average time to close has reduced!"

He scanned the numbers she had marked with a yellow high-lighter.

"And the cases-solved as a percentage of overall cases has increased too. Well, except for burglaries it appears." Archie's brow furrowed when he said that.

"Guess what you next assignment is."

"Burglary cases?"

"You must be psychic, Professor Marbray."

"Ha, ha. Well, it looks like things are going better now."

"This is because of you, Archie." Teresa felt a pang of guilt. "What you've done far exceeds the pittance you get paid."

"I thought part of the deal was having me handy while you set about proving I was that Jane fellow."

Now she felt more guilt.

"I'm still doing that, but it doesn't feel the same."

_I can't believe I'm having this conversation with him._

"How's that?"

"When I started working with you, I admit I was consumed by rage. Now, it's more of a sport, a challenge."

With a bemused look, Archie snorted.

"You do know all of this sounds really weird, don't you? Here's a man you just met, a wildly successful, charismatic academic superstar…"

Teresa tapped his hand.

"You're laying it on too thick."

He shrugged.

"Okay, here's a college professor you just met that you accuse of being a long-lost colleague. One who's on the run from the law. What do you do? You offer him a job working for you. Doing what? Catching bad guys. And what do I do? Not only do I accept the job, but I also expand what you hired me to do. All the while you're still trying to prove that I have this secret identity. And how do I react? I enjoy every minute of it. Are we both crazy or what?"

"Well when you put it that way…"

They both chuckled until their eyes met. Silence fell over them, one that was awkward yet pleasant at the same time. For several moments they sat frozen in their mutual gaze.

The loud crash of a tray full of plates on the floor followed by a string of curses from a student worker broke their shared moment.

_I can't let my thoughts run down that road again. Get a grip, girl._

Teresa decided to speak out about what had nagged her thoughts for some days now.

"All of this that you've done for me is so far beyond what I ever pictured or hoped for." _And the time we spend together is an added bonus I never believed possible._ "It makes me feel like I've taken advantage of you."

He got that sly look on his face.

"Feeling guilty?"

"Maybe a little…okay, a lot. Especially if I've still got this 'Marbray really is Jane' side project."

"Well, if you feel guilty, I've got a solution."

"Uh-oh. What have I gotten myself into?"

"I've come to your place of work, so why don't you come to mine? Come to my 8:00am class next Thursday and talk about your work. You know, as the leader of an organization, as someone who deals with a wide range of people."

"What part of my work? What type of people?"

"That's up to you, Teresa. I give you _carte blanche_."

"But I wouldn't know what you wanted. I wouldn't want to let you down."

"You never let me down, Teresa. I trust you. Do you trust me?"

She brushed her fingers over his hand.

"I trust you. Heaven help me but I do, Archie."

* * *

The next Tuesday morning at 7:15am…

Teresa sat nervously in the Deverell College cafeteria flipping through her index cards over and over again. Talking to college students made her far more nervous than speaking with the elementary school classes she visited.

_I can stare down an armed robber without flinching but facing two hundred 19-year-olds in an amphitheater has me breaking out in a cold sweat._

A hand grasped her shoulder and squeezed it.

"You'll do fine, Teresa."

How had he known what she was thinking?

Archie circled around her to the other side of the table.

"I'm nervous, Arch. Really nervous."

"So was I the first time I addressed a large group. But think about it, you've done that before."

"I have?"

"A large portion of your career has been in upper levels of law enforcement. Appearing on television would certainly be part of that, wouldn't it?"

"It is. But this is standing in front of a crowd of two hundred people. And they're college students who don't want to be in an 8:00am class any more than their instructor does."

She could tell Archie remembered what he had said during the lie detector calibration.

"I'm beginning to regret sharing that piece of information with you, Teresa."

"And I'm looking for any leverage over you I can get!"

Their laughter settled her down. Archie reached across the table, snatched her index cards from her hands, and tucked them in her jacket pocket.

"You'll do fine, my dear. What you and I need to do now is share a quick breakfast before we head to the lecture hall."

Twenty-five minutes later they strolled out of the cafeteria and turned toward the classroom building. Amid the jitters that still coursed through her, two thoughts popped into her head. The first thought was that he was now calling her "my dear." So Jane-like and yet natural for the two of them. The second thought was that he had no idea about the surprise that awaited him in the lecture hall. She smiled at Archie as they entered the building.

When they got to the top steps of the amphitheater, Archie froze. Teresa saw the back of Rho Birnbaum's head as she sat on the front row. A student was speaking with her and at the same time she waved to someone else across the room. Teresa tapped his arm for them to keep moving.

"What's Rho doing here?" he asked.

"What's wrong with her being here?"

"She's my boss. Administrators usually don't sit in on a class. Especially the President."

"Don't be nervous. Isn't that what you just told me?"

Archie looked at her with suspicion.

"Did you have something to do with this?"

"Oh dear, I'd better let Rho explain things. By the way, I'm feeling much more relaxed now that you're not!"

When they got to the bottom of the steps, Rho saw them and jumped up.

"Teresa! You look beautiful this morning." She hurried over to hug her.

Teresa noticed that Archie stood to the side with his arms crossed.

"Rho, this is a surprise. What brings you here this morning?" he asked.

She put her arm around Teresa.

"You've been keeping Teresa to all to yourself. When you told Cobb that she was coming to your class, he told me. Of course I had to get on the phone with her that instant."

"So, just for the record, it was your big mouth that led Rho to be here!" Teresa enjoyed the scowl that her comment produced on Archie's face.

"Teresa and I are alike, Arch, two people whose jobs consume a lot of our energies. And furthermore, the job stays with us even when we're supposed to have free time. Us girls got to talking, and we decided that when Teresa was done here this morning we'd have a girls-day-out. You know, turn off our cell phones for a while and just go places. I've been looking forward to this for a week now."

"Humph."

"Rho, I don't think Archie knows what to make of us."

Rho looked straight at him.

"I know you and Teresa spend a lot of time together, but today you'll just have to make do with having Cobb for an eating partner, Archie. You know, like you used to do before you met Teresa."

The two women laughed, and Teresa saw his scowl melt away. He nodded then assumed his familiar confident posture.

"I hope you ladies have fun." With that, he moved over to the lectern to talk with a small group of students gathered there.

The two women took seats on the front row as the crowd around Archie dispersed. Switching on the microphone, Archie glanced over to Teresa. He winked at her and she smiled in return. Rho patted her arm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm on pins and needles this morning. Why you ask? Sitting on the front row are two different bosses of mine. Talk about pressure!" The students laughed. "You're all familiar with our President, Dr. Rholanda Birnbaum. Sitting next to her is our guest speaker this morning. She's the law in this town, and you'd better not forget it. She's a fearsome force for justice, the siren of civil service, my good friend Police Chief Teresa Lisbon…"

* * *

As Teresa made her remarks and answered questions, Rho looked at her friend with admiration. This young woman had her audience in the palm of her hand while she talked about leading the police force. The confidence, the enthusiasm, the inspiration of Teresa Lisbon were all on full display.

Rho also noticed that Teresa hadn't gotten just the attention of the students. After introducing her, Archie sat down next to Rho. When she glanced at him during the lecture, she saw a man transfixed. The look on his face went way beyond mere appreciation for Teresa. Rho felt a glow inside her at the thought that she and Cobb had brought the two of them together.

The applause for Teresa at the end of her lecture thundered off the walls of the amphitheater. Rho saw a hint of shyness come over her friend that endeared her even more to the audience. Archie hurried to the lectern to thank Teresa. As he made his closing remarks, Rho noticed that his arm encircled her waist and hers encircled his.

_I can't wait to tell Cobb what I'm seeing._

* * *

On a Monday night, Teresa walked down the familiar hallway that led to Archie's dorm room. She had just gotten back from an all-day trip to Oregon to deal with an extradition case. Even though she was exhausted and the hour was late, her heart pounded as she made her way to his door. She was nervous, but being alone with her thoughts on the drive home had buoyed her resolve. Wasn't the old saying "Nothing ventured, nothing gained"? But what she planned to do now made no sense; it wasn't rational. Wasn't she still trying to prove that Archie was Jane?

Two steps before she got to his door, she heard the chair in his room scoot across the floor. The door swung open to reveal Archie clad in his bathrobe and pajamas.

"Teresa, I'm so glad you came by. I missed you today."

"I hadn't even knocked on your door yet."

"I recognize your footsteps. A very pleasant sound, one that's music to my ears. I was just fixing some tea. Care to join me?"

"That sounds delightful."

He handed her a cup and proceeded to fix their tea.

"So, tell me. How was Oregon…"

They talked for the next ten minutes about Oregon, extradition agreements, and prisoner transfers. Instead of calming her nerves, their normal back-and-forth only heightened her unease. But she'd promised herself she'd carry through with her idea, and she pushed ahead. Setting her teacup down, she cleared her throat. That got his attention.

"Archie, I read the other day…" The words caught in her throat. She tried again. "On the way home I got to thinking…" Even if she couldn't get the words out of her mouth, she still had his attention. He sat facing her with his hands on his lap and a grin on his face. She took in a deep breath. "I saw where the SeaTac Philharmonic Orchestra in Seattle is performing Beethoven's _Seventh Symphony_. I heard it's very good."

"It is. I'm especially a fan of its Second Movement."

Was Archie leaning forward? He was, and his grin had gotten bigger.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to hear the performance." If it were possible his grin had gotten even wider and he leaned over even further. "It's this Saturday night."

The grin vanished.

A searing pain ripped through her insides. Why had she done that? Now she was being shot down, embarrassed, and with a man she already had the most awkward of relationships with.

"I wish I could, Teresa. I'm sorry I can't. I've already made a commitment for this weekend."

Teresa wanted to crawl under the rug and die. Still she had to try to save face, make light of the words that had just come from her mouth.

"Oh, well, it's not a big deal." _Oh yes it is and you've just made a fool of yourself._ "I was just asking as a…"

"Teresa, I can't go because I promised Cobb and Rho that I'd help them chaperone a student camping trip this weekend. The group is going to the San Juan Islands. Because of the number of students going, they thought they needed a third adult along."

"Oh." She felt a little better now. It wasn't like he was going out on a date with some other…

Archie tugged her sleeve.

"I've got an idea, Teresa. Come with me. Come with us."

"Me on a camping trip?"

"Yes. Rho and Cobb would love to have you along, and you know I would."

"But I haven't been camping since I was a teenager."

"So? Where we're going the scenery is spectacular."

"But I don't have any equipment or hiking clothes."

He waved his hand in a dismissive way.

"We can get everything you need this week."

She was warming to the idea, but an image of her sleeping on the cold hard ground made her shudder.

"Well, ahm…"

He took her hands in his and put a puppy dog look on his face.

"Let me show you a whole other world. You'll never forget it. Will you come with me?"

Teresa felt her heart slip away from her. She squeezed Archie's hands.

"I will."

* * *

To be continued

* * *

Author's notes:

J.P. Pennington and Mark Gray wrote "The Closer You Get" in 1980, and the group Alabama recorded the song for their album of the same name.

The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state in the United States.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	8. Like To Get To Know You

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. In particular, I appreciate **Sue** for sharing her knowledge of outdoor equipment in this and the next chapter - everything from shoes to hats! Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "Could Be." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8: "Like To Get To Know You"

* * *

_Monday night…_

"I will."

When he heard the words from her lips, his heart leaped. As he looked at her, so many thoughts ran through his head - elation, gratitude…love. Had he even dared to dream this? What had happened over the last few weeks was so unexpected, so mystifying. It defied explanation. But here he was in his room, sitting with her, planning a trip.

"Good. Don't worry, Teresa. We'll get you ready to go."

He saw her eyes sparkle. Those eyes. Yes, those eyes did bewitch him. He looked forward to seeing them every day now; when he didn't, he mourned.

"How do I start to prepare, Archie?"

He reached in his desk drawer to pull out paper and pen.

"Let's make a list, then we'll break down where to get what you need."

She scooted her chair next to him and they commenced to scribble down everything from a sleeping bag to a pair of shoes. Once done with the list, they broke the items down further - things she had or could borrow, things to buy in a store, and things to buy online. In a half-hour, Teresa looked over all they had written down.

"Maybe this isn't so daunting after all, Arch."

"That's the spirit, my dear. Would you like to go ahead and shop for some things online?"

"Since I was gone to Oregon all day today I wasn't gonna go into the station until tomorrow afternoon. I had planned to sleep late, then arrive there about the time you did."

When she said that, she flashed those eyes at him, and he felt his pulse race.

"So…that means you can get started tonight."

"What about you? I'm game, but you've got your classes in the morning."

He dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand.

"I've never been a heavy sleeper. I tend to take cat naps."

"Hmmm. Interesting you should say that."

He caught the smirk on her face as he switched his laptop on.

"Some other characteristic of your old friend? Just for tonight, while we're sitting here shopping, why don't we drop the 'Archie is Jane' business. Could we?"

She answered his plaintive look with a squeeze of his arm.

"That sounds good to me. Let's get started. First off, what about the tent? I want something light-weight so it will…"

Time flew by. When they finished their online shopping, Teresa glanced at her watch. Her mouth dropped.

"2am! I didn't know we'd been at it that long."

"Time flies and all that."

Her face dimpled.

"I've enjoyed this already. Thank you."

"The pleasure is mine. You really need to go shopping for your shoes tomorrow. You need a good fit."

"Will you help me?"

"How about after we finish at the police station? Get a quick bite to eat, then hit the stores before they close."

"I can hardly wait, Archie."

"Nor can I."

"Well, as much as I hate to leave, I need to go home to get some rest. You do too regardless of what you say. Goodnight, Archie."

"Goodnight, Teresa."

As he heard her steps fade down the hallway he looked around his room.

_This isn't such a lonely prison anymore._

* * *

_Tuesday night at the Cannon River Outdoor Emporium…_

He and the saleslady watched Teresa as she took eight steps across the simulated hiking terrain in the outdoors store. She turned her head around to him.

"They fit."

"The tread on the bottom works well for a variety of surfaces. They're the same brand as my shoes. And they look good on you."

"But they're orange!"

"Orange is a good look for you."

He could see her resistance weaken.

"You really think they'll work okay, Arch?"

"I know they will."

Teresa looked over to the saleslady.

"If the expert here is sold on 'em, then I am too." she handed them over, and the saleslady took them to the counter.

As Teresa sat in the chair next to him putting her regular shoes back on, he did feel the need to talk with her about one topic.

"You made a good choice. My only concern now about the shoes is their newness. Well, they'll be broken in by the end of the trip."

"Is that why you wear your hiking shoes all the time?"

"That, and to be a non-conformist." He loved seeing her roll her eyes at something she said.

As they winded through the racks of clothing on their way to the sales counter, Teresa stopped at a hat display. She lifted a hat off its peg to try on.

"This is like the hat you're wearing in the photo with Cobb. You know, the one where the two of you are standing in front of a park sign."

"Ah, yes. A Tilley hat. Cobb and Rho gave that to me. I take it with me on every trip now. Very comfortable. The width of the brim prevents sunburn."

Teresa rifled through the hats, trying all of them on. When she finished, a scowl crossed her face.

"None in my size. Too bad. I liked their look."

* * *

_Wednesday afternoon…_

He came early to set up a test for his students at the police station.

As the group of officers strolled into the conference room that he'd transformed into a makeshift classroom, Hinks and Albury sidled over.

"You're a bad influence on the Chief, Dr. Truth." Despite Albury's words, the smile on his face told Archie that he was just jesting.

"How's that, Warrick?"

Hinks spoke up before Albury could reply.

"You need to see for yourself, Professor. Go take a look at her."

Curious, he walked down the hallway to the chief's office. When he entered, he saw Teresa standing behind her desk.

"Hey, Arch! Giving that test of yours this afternoon?"

He couldn't see anything amiss about her, dressed in her neatly pressed uniform. While he preferred to see her hair resting loose on her shoulders, he liked the way she pinned it to give her a professional look.

"I am indeed. I just wanted to stop in to say hi."

"We need to talk about that vandalism case on Maple Street. I'll walk with you back down to the conference room."

When she circled around the desk, he finally understood Hinks and Warrick. The prim and proper Chief Teresa Lisbon was wearing her new pair of orange hikers.

* * *

_Thursday afternoon…_

He watched Teresa as she worked to set up her brand new tent in the middle of her office. Sitting at the side table gave him a ringside seat. Despite sporadic words of frustration, he knew she enjoyed the challenge. A bang of hair drooped over her face, and she blew it off her eyes, then grinned at him.

"What are you looking at, Archie?"

"I'm looking at someone who's having fun checking out the tent. You're tackling it like it's a puzzle to work out."

"Yeah, kinda like proving who you really are. And right now I'm not having much success with either."

"Would you like for me to help - with either one?"

"Ha, ha. Like you'd help me with your identity. No, I'm gonna figure both out." She shifted her gaze from him to the instruction sheet. "Actually, I think I've about got it figured out."

"My identity or the tent assembly?" She scowled back at him. "I'll take that look on your face to mean the tent, my dear."

Clutching an aluminum pole, she crawled back to the tent. He enjoyed watching her. At this particular instant, he was watching her rump. A very pleasing rump in his view.

_Swoosh._

The tent fell over again.

"Sheep dip!"

"May I assist you, Teresa?"

"No! I want to do this myself." Her voice carried that note of defiance he so admired.

"Suit yourself. I'm here if you need me."

Sitting on the floor next to the collapsed tent, she turned to face him.

"I forgot to ask, Arch. How did your test go yesterday?"

"Take a break and look at the results, Teresa. I finished grading them this morning."

She scooted across the floor until she was beside his chair, and he handed a sheet of paper down to her. He noted the surprise on her face.

"They all did well. And the top score amazes me." She looked up at him.

He felt a sense of pride well up inside.

"Yes, they all did well. And that top score was earned, let me assure you. Henry works very hard on the material and activities."

"But, Henry?"

"Yes, Henry."

"Officer Henry Karson? _That_ Henry Karson?"

"I know, I know. He surprised me too. Remember my first introduction to him was when he had tangled himself up in the lie detector cables, so I had doubts. But he's done well. He won the gift certificate."

"Gift certificate? Is there something you haven't told me, Archie?"

"I told the officers that whoever did best would get a $25 gift certificate as a prize." He pulled it out of his jacket pocket to show her.

"You got this on your own? With your own money?"

He relished the next words out of his mouth. As much as he loved Teresa, he did like to get "one up" in their verbal sparring.

"Well, you yourself pointed out that I lived in an abandoned dorm room so I couldn't be _that_ consumed by material things. By the way, I told Henry to stop by your office this afternoon to pick up his prize."

She reached up to caress his arm.

"Thank you, Arch. For everything you've done here. And for talking me into going on this trip."

"Are you sure you don't want some help with your tent?"

Teresa looked from him to the tent to the aluminum pole and back to him again.

"Okay, come over there with me and show me how to finish setting it up." She wagged her finger at him. "But once we're at the San Juan Islands, I want to do this on my own, no help from anyone."

He joined her on the floor beside the tent.

"I admire you, Teresa."

* * *

Henry Karson was walking on air as he made his way down the hallway to the Chief's office. When he ran into Professor Marbray earlier in the afternoon, the first thing he did was shake Henry's hand and slap his shoulder. When Henry found he had scored highest among the officers on Marbray's test, he reached out to grab the professor in a hug. Ever since then he couldn't think about anything else.

Henry was thankful for both Chief Lisbon and Professor Marbray. Lisbon had taken a chance on him, and he always wanted to do the best he could for her. He disliked seeing the pained look she got on her face when he screwed up; it hurt him to think he failed her. She was like a second mother to him, and he hated to upset her.

If Chief Lisbon was like his mother, then Professor Marbray had become like another father to him. He felt like Marbray had taken him under his wing, and the last thing he wanted to do was let him down either. Both of them wanted him to succeed as a police officer, and he would try his best to make them proud of him. Just like he would for his real parents.

Henry was glad that the professor had passed all those lie detector tests the chief made him do. Why had she made the professor take so many? He never figured that out, but he had figured out something else - Chief Lisbon and Professor Marbray liked each other. A lot. That made Henry happy for them both. Whenever he saw the two of them carrying on with each other around the station, it gladdened his heart. Chief Lisbon needed some joy in her life, and Professor Marbray brought it to her.

The professor had told him to stop by the chief's office this afternoon to pick up his prize, and as he approached the doorway he heard two people inside, the chief and the professor. That made him even happier because Chief Lisbon would see Professor Marbray present Henry with his reward. He brimmed over with pride, but then he stopped short of entering the office when he heard their raised voices.

"I should never have let you talk me into this. You know, I had a root canal once that was more fun than this."

"I didn't know you had an oral fixation, Teresa."

"Shut up. When I said for you to crawl down here with me, it wasn't for you to crack jokes. That's not what I needed from you. Get down to business, Archie. Focus! We haven't got all day."

"Just a minute ago you were singing my praises. Now what I hear are my shortcomings."

"Well I'm getting frustrated. And you told me it would be good doing it in here."

"I like to think I'm an expert on this."

"Right now you're more like an amateur flailing around."

"Be patient with me. I do this a lot by myself."

"How long does it take you by yourself?"

"Less than a minute usually."

"That's quick."

"What can I say? It's just routine for me."

"Well doing it on your own is one thing. Pleasing me is something else altogether."

"Yeah, on my own I don't have someone making demands on me. I can concentrate. You're putting a lot of pressure on me to perform."

"All I can say is that we've been going at it for over ten minutes now, and nothing's happened. Nada, zilch. I'm not satisfied, Arch. This isn't any better than when I was doing it by myself."

"Okay, okay. I can tell you're not satisfied. Please believe me, Teresa, I want this to be a good experience for you. Not something you'll look back on with regret. Let me work on this thing some more."

"Sigh. I'm sorry, Archie. I shouldn't have snapped at you. You're trying as hard as you can for me."

"I am, Teresa."

"You know what the best part of this is?"

"What?"

"We're doing it together. I don't care how long it takes."

"Good. I don't want you to be disappointed."

"You haven't disappointed me. Here, let me play around with that pole some more, Arch. Maybe I can get it up this time."

"Be my guest, Teresa."

Henry heard silence for a few moments.

"Look at that! We were both doing it wrong."

"Oh, yeah. Yes! Now that'_s_ working. Go, girl, go!"

Horrified, Henry turned and ran down the hallway. He didn't stop until he had run across the lobby into the break room. The only people there were Officers Hinks and Albury.

"Hey, Henry. You seem upset." Hinks' voice carried a tone of concern.

"You guys know how there's stuff you never want to hear about your parents."

"Yeah…"

"It applies to other adults too."

* * *

_Thursday night…_

When they could get away from the police station, Teresa and Archie went to the mall out by the interstate to get a few final items for the trip. As they walked to his car afterwards, Teresa pointed to a restaurant across the street.

"Let's ditch our shopping bags in the car and eat, Archie."

He nodded in agreement.

As they ate their meal, the sound of the group _Calypso Alcott & Jazz Peach_ wafted through the restaurant. The music had seduced a number of couples onto the dance floor, and Teresa watched them sway to-and-fro. Closing her eyes, she thought back to times past when she had gone dancing. How long had it been? She opened her eyes to find Archie gazing at her.

"A penny for your thoughts, Teresa."

"I was just thinking about the times when I went dancing. That's pretty much non-existent nowadays."

"You like dancing?"

"I do. You know when one of my favorite times was?"

"When?"

"Once I danced with Patrick Jane."

Archie rose from his chair and extended his hand.

"Dance with me, Teresa."

"But it's late. We've both got work tomorrow and then the long trip after that."

"You want to. I know you do. Come on. You can pretend I'm that Jane fellow."

He took off his glasses and extended his hand again. She grasped it as she rose from her chair. As the first notes of the next song sounded, they made their way to a dimly lit corner of the dance floor. Feeling his arm encircle her waist, she did likewise and they began to sway themselves.

The singer made her introduction.

"Ladies and gentleman, for our next song we'll slow things down a bit with an older number, 'Like To Get To Know You'."

Teresa gazed at his eyes as they crinkled.

"I don't have to pretend, Archie."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Written in 1968 by Stuart Scharf, "Like To Get To Know You" was recorded by Julie London for her album _Yummy, Yummy, Yummy_.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	9. I'm Beginning To See The Light

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. Once again, I want to express particular appreciation to **Sue** for sharing her knowledge of outdoor equipment and activities in shaping this chapter. Also, I especially appreciate **make-mine-a-kiaora** for pointing out a draft section of this chapter that drifted _way_ off course from the plot. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "White Out." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I also want to express appreciation to **Jane Doe51** for the insight about the old saying, "_The eyes are the window to the soul._"

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

This _Mentalist_ story was not intended as a formal cross-over with another television show. If, however, you would like to make this chapter a crossover with the old television show _Frasier_, then do the following: substitute "Niles Crane" for "Nevin Carville" and "Daphne Crane" for "Doreen Carville". (I also do not own _Frasier_!)

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9: "I'm Beginning To See The Light"

* * *

_Friday morning…_

Teresa Lisbon glanced one more time at her desk before she left the police station. Piled up on the side were a stack of journals, newsletters, and advisories waiting for her to read. She smiled. Before Archie came into her life, she had no reading backlog, just lots of free time. How her life had changed in such a short period.

She drove over to Deverell College. There the student group would board the bus to take them to the San Juan Islands. Archie had asked her to come by his room before meeting the bus at the Athletic Center. While still five steps from his doorway, she heard the pleasant tones of an English-accented welcome.

"Ah, Teresa. Thank you for coming by before we depart."

The door was ajar so she pushed it fully open. Inside the room she found him zipping up his last bag. He flashed his smile.

"What's up that we needed to meet here?"

"Please have a seat." He moved a bag off the guest chair while he sat on the bed. "I wanted to give you some things before we left."

She scrunched up her nose.

"Give me something? You didn't have to do that."

"Oh, but I want to. Three things actually." He reached under the bed to produce a small wrapped box. "Here's the first. Something we forgot to get for you."

When she opened the box, she laughed. Inside was a pair of hiking socks.

"I hadn't even thought about these."

"They're made here in Washington State; check the package."

Teresa read the label: _Skylers Trinkets_. She rubbed the socks against her cheek.

"These feel good. Let me put them on now so I'll have them on the trip."

As quick as she could, she replaced her gym socks with the new ones.

"Here's the second item."

This time Teresa unwrapped a larger box.

"Oh, Archie! This is just what I wanted." She lifted out a new Tilley hat to place on her head. "The fit is perfect. How did you find my size?"

"A little detective work - I had Henry check the size on your dress uniform hat while I kept you distracted in the break room. It looks good on you. I've got one more item." He handed a final box to her.

When she opened the third box, she found a flashlight mounted on a headband. She gave Archie a puzzled look.

"What's this?"

"A headlamp."

"Headlamp as in car headlamp?"

She heard him sigh.

"It's got a confusing name, I'll grant you that. Anyway, you can look at it and tell how it's used."

She slipped the band around her head, then flicked on the light as she looked at Archie. The beam shone on his face as he gazed back at her.

"This casts a strong beam. Will we be hiking in darkness?"

"Actually, yes, you and I will. While the group is on the island, there's something I want to show you alone."

Teresa felt a tingle of anticipation when she heard him say that.

* * *

On the bus, Rho and Cobb sat up front behind the driver. Students filled the next rows of seats. Teresa and Archie sat in the back by themselves, which suited her just fine. They could shut themselves off from everyone else to enjoy each other's company.

"So, are you 'packing heat' on this trip?" He gave her a sly look to which she responded in kind.

"What do you think, Professor?"

"I'd say you've got a sidearm and your badge in your pack."

"You'd be wrong."

"I would have thought that you'd bring them along."

"I didn't say I didn't bring them, it's just that I didn't put them in my pack."

"Well, where then?"

"The badge and sidearm are in one of the 3,246 pockets on this pair of hiking pants. Did you know these pants have more pockets than all my other clothes put together?"

He reached over to finger the material on her pants.

"And one of the pockets has waterproof lining."

"Then you guessed which one I put my badge and gun in."

After a while they began talking about the vegetation and animals on the islands. From there Teresa got to thinking about local legends in the region. She just had to ask him about one in particular.

"Have you ever seen Bigfoot while you've been on one of your treks?"

"Never have."

"Do you believe he's out there?"

"Nah, Bigfoot is just a myth."

Teresa wouldn't let the topic die; she was having fun with Archie.

"But what if we encounter Bigfoot on this trip. Would you try to outrun him?"

"Nope."

"You wouldn't?"

"I wouldn't try to outrun Bigfoot; I'd just try to outrun you."

Teresa responded in kind.

"You could certainly _try_ to outrun me, but I'd smoke you even in these orange hikers!"

Once they got to the island park, it felt good to get out and stretch. When the Deverell group arrived at the trailhead, they found a smattering of other people there, mostly families. Teresa went to sit on a long bench while Cobb, Rho, and Archie met with a ranger. The students milled around, burning off the nervous energy that had built up on the bus ride.

As she sat there, she watched the other people, one family in particular. The mother busied herself with adjusting the straps on the backpacks carried by the father and their son.

"Dad, Dad! Look over there at the geese." The boy pointed to the water's edge. "They're all in a row. Let's go over and get a picture of them."

The father laughed.

"Sure, Davy. Just as long as there's no poison oak between here and there. Or poison ivy. Or snakes."

The little boy rolled his eyes.

"There isn't. Come on, Dad!" He tugged on his father's sleeve.

The father looked at the mother.

"We'll be back in a bit, Doreen. Why don't you have a seat and relax."

"I will, my love. The two of you get some good pictures." Teresa noticed the woman had an English accent.

With the father trailing along behind, the son scampered down to the edge of the water, camera in hand. The woman walked over to Teresa's bench.

"May I join you while my husband and son are making photos?"

"I'd be delighted." Teresa scooted over and tapped the open space on her left.

"This is a beautiful place, isn't it? Our son fell in love with it, and he's always begging us to bring him back over."

"Are you from around here?"

"Not really. We live in Seattle. How about you?"

"Me neither. I'm with a group from Deverell College in Cannon River."

"Deverell? One of my husband's colleagues graduated from there."

The two women got into a lively conversation. It turned out that Doreen's husband was a psychiatrist. She herself was a physical therapist.

Even though their relationship had evolved from antagonism to friendship to whatever you would call it today, Teresa still hoped Archie would come over to bench while she was talking with Doreen. She desperately wanted to see how he would react when confronted by someone actually from England. He was still with Rho and Cobb talking with the ranger. The four of them hunched over a map of the park, and every once in a while the ranger would point off in some direction.

At last Archie looked up to flash a smile at Teresa. She took the opportunity to wave him over. Excusing himself, he walked to the bench.

"I'd like to introduce you two. Doreen Carville, this is Archie Marbray. She and her family came here from Seattle."

"Nice to meet you, Archie."

Teresa studied Archie's expression while he studied Doreen. He raised his fingers to stroke his chin.

"Nice to meet you, Doreen. I'd guess that you're not from Seattle originally." He glanced over at Teresa with a twinkle in his eyes.

Doreen laughed.

"Whatever made you think that?"

"Well, Seattle by way of…Manchester, perhaps?"

"You're right." She turned to a dumbfounded Teresa. "He's good."

"You've been in the States for a while, haven't you?"

"Yes, it sounds like you've spent some time here as well."

Archie sat down on the other side of Teresa, and the three of them had a pleasant conversation. He admitted he knew little about Manchester, but still he had amazed Teresa in guessing where Doreen came from.

With a frown on his face, Doreen's son ran up to her. Her husband trailed behind the boy a few steps.

"Dad thinks he got into some poison oak. I told him it wasn't but he wants you to check to make sure."

The man arrived at the bench.

"What happened, Nevin?"

"You know my dysfunctional sense of balance. I was trying to snap a picture of Davy with the ducks…"

"Geese, Dad, geese."

"Okay, geese. I fell over in the brush. My wrist is already itching, Doreen."

She laughed.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Nevin."

Archie looked at Nevin and Davy, then at Doreen.

"I'm pretty good at identifying poison oak. Learned the hard way the first time I was here! Why don't I go take a look, Nevin?"

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

Archie followed Nevin and Davy down to the shoreline. Doreen watched them walk off and turned to Teresa.

"Your husband seems like a nice man."

Teresa could feel herself blush.

"Oh, he's not my husband."

Doreen got a perplexed look on her face.

"Excuse me, Teresa. It must be that you _act_ like a married couple. But you two are in a relationship, aren't you?"

Teresa smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

By the time that Archie got back to Teresa and the Deverell group, it was time to set out. Cobb and Rho took the lead on the trail followed by the students. As had been the case on the bus ride, Teresa and Archie stayed in the back.

"Nevin and Doreen are an interesting pair, aren't they?" Archie asked.

"Doreen seemed comfortable being out here. Nevin impressed me as being a bit of a hypochondriac with that business about the poison oak. You know he's miserable out here."

Archie's expression turned serious.

"I admire Nevin." The conviction in his voice surprised Teresa.

"How so?"

"You're right. He's miserable in the great outdoors, but he's here for someone he loves. Love drives people to extremes. They do things - make sacrifices - all in the name of love. They put those they care about first."

Teresa heard a catch in Archie's voice, and he refused to lift his gaze from the trail for several minutes.

"Have you ever been in love, Teresa?"

"Twice in my life, Arch. How about you?"

"Twice in my life as well. Once you fall in love, it leaves a mark on you."

"You're so right."

* * *

Cobb and Rho led the group along the trail as they climbed several switchbacks. The further they went, the more the students bunched in clusters of two or three. Teresa and Archie still brought up the rear.

Teresa took satisfaction that she and Archie didn't seem to huff and puff nearly as much as "the kids" ahead of them did. When they got to some rocky terrain, she appreciated that Archie had convinced her to get a walking stick. Even in her good physical condition, it helped her move through the rocks.

As they walked, her gaze continued to drift away from the scenery to look at her companion. She liked what she saw. Eventually Archie noticed.

"What, Teresa?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring at me. If we're going through all this strenuous climbing, you should at least get the benefit of seeing the great views along the way."

"I'm just thinking about you now compared to how you used to be."

"You mean when I was your Patrick Jane fellow."

"It's just that I could never picture Jane doing something like this."

"You mean he was like Nevin?"

"Not that bad, but the Patrick Jane I knew didn't seem to be the hiking-and-camping type."

"Well, speaking as someone who's come to this hobby at a later point in life, I recommend it to anyone. The sooner the better. You can feel a certain freedom out here, can't you?"

Teresa smiled.

"Yes you can." She fell silent a moment as she negotiated her way across a section of jagged stones sticking up from the trail. Once back on a mostly smooth surface, she got his attention again. "Archie?"

"Yes, Teresa."

"I'm glad you found this hobby. It suits you well. And I'm glad you're sharing it with me."

"Speaking of sharing, when we go another half mile, Cobb and Rho will have the group take a break. When we stop, there's something I want you to see. You won't be disappointed. We'll sneak off from the others while they're resting."

Archie's words filled Teresa with the tingle of anticipation again. Sure enough, twenty minutes later Cobb and Rho halted the procession. The students all welcomed the stop as a chance to drape themselves across boulders beside the trail to rest and soak up the sun. Tugging on Teresa's sleeve, Archie nodded for her to follow him down a side trail.

Teresa let him lead as they made their way through heavy brush. This trail was nowhere near as well-kept as the main one they'd been on. Almost as if he had read her mind, Archie spoke.

"I think the rangers let the vegetation around this trail grow up so only the most persistent hikers will use it. And you and I, we're nothing if not persistent, aren't we?" The twinkle in his eyes made her nod in agreement.

"Well, you know I am, Arch!"

After a three-minute walk, the trail came to an end at a bluff that overlooked the waters below. In the distance more of the islands poked up out of the mists. Raising a hand to cover his eyes from the sunlight, Archie looked back and forth below where they stood. Suddenly he tapped her arm.

"Get out your binoculars."

Teresa complied, and Archie directed her attention to a spot not far off the shore. When Teresa focused the lens, she gasped. A whale bobbed up and down through the waters, it's back glistening in the sun. Soon she saw three more nearby. Spellbound, she lost sense of time and place while she watched.

"They're so beautiful, Archie. How did you ever find this place?"

"Cobb and Rho introduced me to the main trail, but I found this place when I came back alone. Spent a half day here once just watching and listening. It's my second favorite place on the island."

"Second? Where's your favorite?"

"That's the reason for the headlamp I gave you. I'll show you that place tomorrow morning, Teresa. It's another spot off the beaten path. It has special meaning for me, and I want to share it with you."

"I can hardly wait, Patrick."

"Good. I promise you that you'll enjoy it. Well, we should head back to the group. They'll be ready to go soon."

As they walked back to rejoin the group, a stray thought crossed Teresa's mind.

_I just called him Patrick and he said nothing about it._

Reaching out ahead of her, she patted him on the back.

* * *

That night in her tent, Teresa had a dream, a pleasant one about her and Patrick back at CBI. Or was it Archie who was with her? Blond hair or black hair? It was always changing, but somehow the person was the same.

_Tap-tap-tap._

She was falling out of her dream now.

_Tap-tap-tap._

She opened her eyes to a cool darkness that disoriented her.

_Tap-tap-tap._

"Teresa." Archie's whisper from outside the tent woke her up fully as he tapped on a support pole for the tent.

"Give me a moment." She answered in the same low tone that he had used.

Sitting up, she unzipped the front of the tent. Archie's face appeared between the flaps, headlamp strapped above his hat.

"Come with me!"

In the darkness, she made out the faint outlines of his grin. Even though it was the middle of the night, even though the outside chill made her shiver, Teresa eagerly twisted herself out of her sleeping bag and into her hiking gear. Once outside with him, she put on her hat and wrapped the headlamp over it. Archie reached over to flick the lamp on.

"Just follow me."

Walking behind him she saw they were headed down another side trail like the one they had followed the day before. Soon the brush along the path got so heavy that Archie continually had to take one hand to push it aside as they made their way along. Hesitant, Teresa lagged behind.

"It's hard to see ahead, even with this headlamp on. The darkness makes me uneasy," she said.

Archie looked back her. He held out his hand.

"Do you trust me, Teresa?"

She extended her hand to grasp his.

"I do, Archie. I do."

He squeezed her hand.

"I'm not gonna let anything hurt you. Let's keep going. It'll be worth it, I promise."

Hand-in-hand they walked a few more minutes until the trail opened into a wide clearing. In the distance, she could hear water lapping up on the shore line. The faint light of the night sky outlined the water's edge far below. Wisps of a cool night breeze ruffled bangs of her hair that poked out from her hat.

Archie pointed toward what looked like a bluff, and he led her to some large boulders above it. Their hands still joined together, he motioned for them to take a seat on one of the smoother rocks.

"I've come here often by myself. Few people know about this place, let alone visit it."

"Even though I can't see anything, I know it's beautiful."

"You won't be disappointed, Teresa. Sunrise is coming soon."

"Us doing this together is what matters most to me."

While stars still shown above them, she could see a faint yellowing in the eastern sky.

"Tell me something, Teresa."

"What?"

"About Patrick Jane."

"What about Patrick?"

"Was he your friend?"

She squeezed his arm.

"He was - good and bad, warts and all - the greatest friend I ever had."

Archie looked away, back over to the sea. With his face silhouetted by the lightening sky behind him, she saw his lips quiver.

"If your friend Patrick came back to you suddenly, unannounced, after everything he had put you through, how would you have felt?"

"Mixed feelings, I guess."

"He was on the run, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was. But not from me."

Archie waved his hand at the sky.

"Sometimes you have to go through rough patches to get to see the dawn of a new day. But when you get there, when you greet that new day, it's worth the trial you went through. Don't you think, Teresa?"

She lowered her cheek to rest on Archie's shoulder.

"I do, Archie." Teresa laced her arm through his and scooted up against him. Both of them let out a sigh.

Sitting in silence, they greeted the dawn. Beams of light glowed on the horizon. Teresa heard birds chirp and flit through the air. Below them water washed over the beach, and around them the outline of trees and rocks came into focus.

Teresa heard Archie's next words as if they were in a dream.

"People make too much of sunsets. They're pretty but overrated. Now a beautiful sunrise, the promise of a new day - that's a sight to behold. There's no better gift than a clear blue morning."

Teresa looked up and his gaze met hers. He needed to say nothing more. She finally had her answer. Lowering her head, she rested it on his shoulder while he put his arm around her.

* * *

The hike back down the trail didn't take the time or energy the trip up had. Again Rho and Cobb led the group, and Teresa and Archie brought up the rear - focusing more on each other than any sights along the way.

When the Deverell group returned to the trailhead, they had to wait a few minutes for their transport back to the bus. As they milled around the area, Teresa spied Doreen and her family again. She waved at them. Archie noticed and waved as well.

Teresa and Archie were just going over to a bench to sit down when they began to shake. By instinct they grabbed each other to hold on. In a matter of seconds the shaking stopped.

Everyone looked around in shock. At that point, Teresa's training took over. In a loud, clear voice she called out.

"It seems we've had a small earthquake. Is everyone alright?" She turned and spoke to Archie in a lower voice. "You take the people to our left, I'll take the ones to our right. Let's make sure everyone here is okay."

Archie nodded and they both went to work. In a short time, they confirmed that everyone was safe and unhurt. Teresa got out her phone to call the Cannon River Police Department. Talking with her assistant chief, she found out that Cannon River had experienced only a minor tremor as well. No injury or property damage reports had come in, so Teresa breathed a sigh of relief. After she got off the phone, she noticed that Archie had been talking with Nevin and Doreen. He walked back over to her.

"The Carvilles have been on the phone with Nevin's father in Seattle. He told them it was just a mild quake there as well. According to news reports, the epicenter was further north in British Columbia. It was a stronger shock up there."

* * *

The ride back to Cannon River was subdued. Fatigue from the hiking coupled with the earthquake had put a damper on the level of conversation on the bus. Again Teresa and Archie sat in the rear. Now however she rested her head on his shoulder, and their hands clasped. Twisting her head around, she saw that he had fallen asleep. Rubbing his arm with her free hand, she let her mind drift.

The old saying that "eyes are a window to the soul" was true. She had seen the truth about Archie's real identity the day they met. This weekend she'd seen another truth, the love they shared for each other.

There was nothing to keep them apart now. She wouldn't hurt him, she loved him too much. And she knew that he knew that. Did she have to hear him say the words out loud to her, "_I am Patrick Jane_"? Even two days ago she needed to hear that; she needed the validation. But not now. For whatever reason he wanted to keep up the formal facade, she would accept that. Did she still want him to say it to her? Yes, more for his benefit than for hers. In the meantime she would be his safe harbor, the one person he could turn to and share his deepest secrets, his highs and lows, his love.

_Our love for each other…_

* * *

When they got off the bus, he exchanged a quick embrace with Teresa and then they parted company to get some rest. He returned to his dorm room, threw his pack in the corner, and climbed onto the bed.

After a deep nap, he awoke from a dream about Teresa. In the dream they were together, hand-in-hand, walking along the trail to see the sunrise. Sitting up, he knew he had to cross the last threshold with her, the last barrier to their being together. He had to be honest with her, and he knew now she would accept what he had to say.

_I just have to tell her the truth._

Once he shared that truth about himself with Teresa, they could move on to what was most important - that he loved her and wanted to build a new life with her. He smiled as he thought of the perfect place, at Nan's when they went there after work. With a phone call beforehand, Nan would set them up in a cozy corner of the restaurant. Later over some wine with soft music in the background, he would tell her. All would be right with their world, and they could move forward. Pleased with his plan, he put his hands behind his head to dream of Teresa's face.

He heard footsteps, familiar ones, scurry down the hallway towards his room. Teresa was coming, but something was amiss.

"Archie!"

Her voice was breaking. He sprang from the bed as she pushed open the door.

Teresa stood there sobbing. Tears poured from her eyes, and her body convulsed in spasms.

"Hold me, Archie, please."

They embraced in a tight hug as she moaned.

"Patrick Jane is dead."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

One more note of appreciation for **Sue Shay** - Sue emailed **make-mine-a-kiaora** and me a photo of five geese walking in a row on a frozen lake. That photo inspired the scene with Davy and his father.

Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James wrote "I'm Beginning To See The Light" in 1944. Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song for her album, _Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook_.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	10. Tell Me True

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story. I appreciate both of them for helping with plot issues in this chapter. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest, "Too Soon To Go." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 10: "Tell Me True"

* * *

Teresa couldn't let go of Archie. For several more moments she held him in an iron grip. When she did release him, she stared at him through her tears. Reaching up to his face, she snatched off his glasses. She looked into his eyes.

_How could I be wrong?_

Teresa handed his glasses back to him. Looking at him again, she saw a man bewildered. Of course he would be, he had every right to be. She had accused him of being someone else since the day they met, yet she hired him to work with her. She attempted to unmask this hidden guise of his, yet they grew closer. She stood on the cusp of a real future with this man, yet now she came to him in tears about a ghost from her past.

Archie's face contorted.

"Patrick Jane is dead? How?"

"The earthquake." Teresa fought to speak through her sobs. "It was stronger in British Columbia than in Washington. There was a fire and explosion at a mining facility there. One of the fatalities was identified as Jane. I found out from a California media reporter who contacted me for a comment."

"He was at a mining facility?"

"It made no sense to me, that's not the kind of work I thought he would do. But I called the Sheriff's office in the town where the mine is. The town attracts lots of carnies, and Jane had long-standing connections to that community."

"You're sure of all this?"

"The blast incinerated the bodies of the victims, but the sheriff got statements on Jane from four people that identified him as one of the fatalities - a mine supervisor and three co-workers. A woman he was living with also confirmed his identity as Patrick Jane."

Archie winced.

"I don't know what to say." He enveloped her in a hug again.

"I shouldn't be coming to you of all people. You've done nothing wrong, and yet I hounded you about being Jane."

"No, I'm glad you came. I'm glad you turned to me." He tightened his grip on her.

Teresa took a deep breath; she knew she had to say what was on her heart regardless of Archie's reaction.

"I loved Patrick, but I never said it to him."

"I'm sure he knew that."

Teresa fought her emotions as she shook her head. Lifting her arm to her face, she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes using her sleeve. Reaching into his pocket, Archie retrieved a fresh handkerchief for her. She took it and dabbed her eyes.

"Thank you. Thank you for being you." Her lips trembled as she lifted her gaze to meet his. She took a deep breath. "I love you, Archie."

"I love you too, Teresa…"

* * *

Teresa awoke. Glancing down, she saw that she was in a bed, nestled under a quilt. But it wasn't her own bed. Then she remembered coming to Archie's room.

Someone was holding her hand. Turning her head to the left, she saw Archie. But instead of being in bed with her, he had pulled the guest chair beside her. Covered with a blanket, he was sound asleep.

Teresa smiled.

_He could have taken advantage of me last night but he didn't._

She squeezed his hand, and he stirred. It took a moment but he focused on her.

"Teresa. You're awake! How are you this morning?"

"Still not doing too well."

"I'm worried about you. About this whole situation."

She caressed his arm.

"Don't be. I'll work through this."

A ding on his computer distracted him. Releasing her hand, he scooted his chair over to the desk. After staring at the screen for a few moments, he flicked the machine off.

"Teresa, I need to go downstairs to my office. Would you like to join me for breakfast in a half hour? We can go to the cafeteria."

She looked at her watch and realized the time. She shook her head no.

"I have to go by my house, then on to the station. You wanna eat after we finish work this evening?"

"I'd enjoy that very much, Teresa."

She swung her legs off the bed to slip on her shoes. Archie had already moved into the doorway. Before he left the room, he looked back at her, concern in his eyes. She smiled at him.

"I meant what I said to you last night, Archie."

"And I meant what I said to you too, Teresa."

With that he ducked out of the room. The sound of his steps echoed as he hurried down the hall.

* * *

At the police station, Teresa went through the day in a haze. The only bright spot came when Archie arrived and took his usual seat at her corner table. While friendly, they had none of their usual banter that filled her with such joy.

_He's wary about me. I don't blame him._

That evening when they went to Nan's, the somber mood continued. Both of them just picked at their food, and that got Nan's attention. When Archie excused himself to take a phone call, she came over to speak to Teresa.

"You two lost your appetite."

Teresa looked up at her.

"A lot's happened in the last day, Nan."

"Whatever's happened, at least you're still together. I feel better about both of you since you're together."

What did she mean by that? It struck Teresa as odd wording.

"We're good friends."

Nan did something she'd never done with her before. She grabbed the chair Archie had just left to sit down.

"It's not my practice to butt into customers' lives, that's the surest way to lose them. But I'm making an exception with you. I don't have a fancy doctorate like Archie does, but I can see how he feels about you. It goes way beyond friendship, Teresa."

"He's a good man, Nan. We care about each other."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. But he's had feelings for you that go back before you started coming in here together." The two of them saw Archie making his way back to the table. "I'm convinced that man would go through hell on earth for you."

What did Nan mean by that? Before she could ask, Archie arrived back at the table. Nan excused herself as he sat down.

Archie fidgeted for a moment before he spoke.

"Teresa, I have to go out of town for a few days. I'm sorry I won't be at the station, but I promise I'll make it up to you. I have a…research project at a critical point, and it demands my full attention."

The clarity she had gained while watching the sunrise with the man she loved had vanished. Between the news about Jane, Nan's comments, and now Archie's sudden announcement, her life had nose-dived into chaos.

"But…"

He took her hands in his.

"Teresa, I hate to being away from you at all, but especially now when you're hurting. This can't be helped. There's no other way. You trusted me when we walked through the darkness together. I'm asking you to trust me now. Will you?"

She looked at their hands clasped together, then moved her gaze to his eyes. They were pleading with her. She nodded.

"I will."

* * *

Teresa spent two long days in agony without Archie. She yearned to see his cheerful smile or hear his sharp barb or feel the touch of his hand on hers. Somehow she soldiered on through her duties at the police station.

FBI agent Kimball Cho, her old second-in-command at CBI, called on Wednesday to commiserate with her about Jane's death. Having worked with Kimball so long, she could detect sadness in his voice that others couldn't have. His final words on their old friend stuck in her mind:

"The FBI has closed the book on Jane; it's probably time we all did."

Kimball was right. They all needed to move along including her.

* * *

Teresa's melancholy lifted Wednesday night. Archie called! He would be back on Thursday and asked if she wanted him to come to the police station in the afternoon. On impulse, she told him "no," that she'd like to meet him for lunch then spend the afternoon together, just the two of them. When she heard the enthusiasm in his response, it gladdened her heart. She would meet him at Deverell after his morning classes.

As she pulled into the Deverell parking lot the next day, she noted that Archie still had several minutes left in class. Glancing at the administration building, she decided to drop by Rho's office. She sent a text message to Archie for him to meet her there.

When she entered Rho's office suite, Jill the administrative assistant greeted her.

"Chief Lisbon. President Birnbaum will be so glad you're here! Let me tell her."

Before Jill could act, a familiar voice called out from the inner office.

"Teresa? Is that you? Come on in! Cobb and I are just sitting here talking."

* * *

The morning had started out so well only to fall apart. He had come back into town late last night relieved, satisfied, and determined. Relieved that the latest hint of a threat to Teresa had seemed to be one more false alarm. Satisfied that his hunch about the report of Patrick Jane's demise had proven correct. Determined that he would share the truth about himself with Teresa.

But now the threat to her turned all too real; it wasn't just a false alarm. He read then reread the words on the computer screen. Why had the fates conspired to upend their lives?

He stared at the screen wishing what he saw wasn't true, but nothing could change reality. He confirmed what he'd seen from two other sources. But wasn't something like this coming up the reason why he had put himself in this place? Hadn't he put Teresa's well-being above all else? It's what drove him. At least the situation gave him a clear picture of what had to happen and when.

Teresa needed to know the truth, and Cobb and Rho did too.

He looked at his watch. Late by ten minutes already. Teresa would be waiting in Rho's office. Picking up his notebook computer, he bolted out of his office, dashed down the hallway, and exited the side door of his building.

Sprinting across the campus lawn, he waved off students and faculty who yelled to him. Swinging open the front door of the administration building, the handle banged hard against the wall.

_That'll leave a mark. No time for me to stop now._

When he got to Rho's office, Jill her assistant smiled warmly at him.

"Hello, Dr. Marbray. Chief Lisbon is already here."

He waved her off and didn't wait for her to announce his arrival. He jerked open the door to Rho's inner office and entered, pulling it closed behind him.

Three heads turned at once. Rho, Cobb, and Teresa all looked at him. Teresa was smiling even more broadly than the other two. She stood up beside her chair.

"Arch, you're late. I could see you standing up Rho and me, but not Teresa." Cobb laughed.

"It's your loss, our gain. We always enjoy spending time with her," Rho said.

"Hey, there, Archie. Ready for lunch?" When Teresa asked, he noticed that she was wearing a beautiful new polka-dot dress. He wanted to cry.

Pain roiled through him because his next words would change everything.

"You're in danger, Teresa."

He could see Cobb chuckle and start to speak up, no doubt with a joke, but he waved him off.

"What?"

"You're in danger, Teresa. We have time to get ready, but you need to prepare."

"What?" When Teresa repeated herself, he heard the confusion in her voice.

"There's a hitman coming to Cannon River. You're his target."

He glanced at Cobb and Rho. Their mouths had fallen open.

"I don't understand, Archie."

"Tommy Volker hired a hitman to get you. I've found out enough that we can intercept the man, but we'll have to be prepared when he arrives in town tonight."

"Tommy Volker hired a hitman to take me out?"

"Yes, it's revenge. You do remember putting Volker away, don't you?"

Teresa stared at him.

"Of course I do. But how do you know?"

He looked from Teresa to Cobb to Rho. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

"Because I'm Patrick Jane."

"Who?" asked Rho.

Patrick turned to Rho and Cobb.

"My name is Patrick Jane, not Archibald Marbray. I worked for Teresa when she was at the California Bureau of Investigation."

"Prove it."

The steel in Teresa's voice took him by surprise. He turned around to see her arms folded and a defiant expression on her face.

"You want proof?"

"Yes…I…do." She hissed the words out of her mouth. "My whole world has gone topsy-turvy these last few months. Prove it."

He nodded.

"We investigated your former fiancé, Greg Marshall, and his wife. They were the suspects in a murder investigation. We cleared both."

"Tell me something else." Her arms were still crossed.

"A psychiatrist named Roy Carmen tried to frame you for murder. He drugged you."

"Tell me one more thing."

"I shot Sheriff Hardy before he could shoot you." Teresa gripped the back of the chair she risen from for support. "You're also a fan of the Spice Girls, but so are a lot of people so that doesn't really count for a lot."

"Your accent is gone."

"I'm an American, Cobb." Patrick turned back to Teresa. "I've got information on the hitman's identity, car license, and travel plans."

"Why, Arch-err-Patri-err-Mr. Jane? Why did you do this? Why did you come here?" Rho waved her hand in the air when she said "here."

"I'm here because Teresa came to Cannon River. I'm a wanted man, a fugitive, so I couldn't live my life in the open as Patrick Jane. I had to have a cover so I invented Archie Marbray. Please don't think badly of Teresa though. She had nothing to do with my scheme."

"But…"

Patrick wouldn't let Rho talk.

"The three most important people in my life have been my wife, my daughter, and now Teresa. A serial killer named Red John murdered my wife and daughter. Nothing could change their fate. But after I hunted down and killed that man, I dedicated myself to protecting Teresa. I could still make a difference in her life. She's the only other woman besides my wife I've ever loved."

Patrick watched Teresa move beside him.

He looked from her over to Cobb and Rho. Their mouths agape, both sat in silence. This couple had been so good to him, and now he had told them how he had betrayed the faith they placed in him. Pain coursed through his body.

Behind him, he heard Teresa clear her throat.

"What time did you say the hitman would arrive in Cannon River?"

"Tonight."

"We've got a little time ahead of that. Before we get ready I've got three things to do though."

Patrick had just turned back to look at Teresa again when he saw her fist barreling toward his face. With no time to react, her punch landed squarely on his nose. The force sent him to the floor. Propping himself up, he rubbed his face.

"I guess I deserved that."

Cobb started to move to help him up, but Teresa waved Cobb off. She knelt beside Patrick.

"Now, here's the second thing I've got to do," she said.

Pulling him to her by the lapels on his jacket, she brought their lips together. Teresa cupped her hands around his cheeks to deepen the kiss, and Patrick wrapped his arms around her waist. She ended up sitting on his lap on the floor, the two of them still kissing.

After a few moments, they broke the kiss, but Patrick kept his arms wrapped around her waist. They smiled at each other.

"One kiss is not enough for me, Teresa."

He pulled her to him for a longer kiss, one that left them breathless when they pulled apart. She placed her hands on his chest.

"Here's the third thing I've got to do. I'm not going to miss another chance to say what I should. I love you, Patrick Jane."

"And I love you, Teresa Lisbon."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Sarah Jarosz wrote the song "Tell Me True" and recorded it for her 2009 album _Song Up In Her Head_.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story.


	11. Shut Up and Kiss Me

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story! Their guidance helped me reshape and clean up this chapter and the next one. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing Jane-on-the-run story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest mystery romance, "White Out." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 11: "Shut Up and Kiss Me"

* * *

Sitting in her squad car later that evening, Teresa and Archie both leaned closer to the wireless speaker, as if that would bring them nearer the action. Zeke Woodling, the Assistant Police Chief, gave progress reports on the operation. His booming voice crackled through the speaker. Hearing about her officers getting into position differed from being the one to direct the operation, and Teresa hung on every word from Zeke.

"Chief, the suspect is moving. Looks like he's going to an upstairs window in the hotel. Hinks and Albury are trailing him. I'm moving too."

Teresa and Archie glanced at each other.

"You don't have to be here, you know." She patted his hand. "You could stay clear of this."

"What? Miss my chance to sit next to a pretty girl? Don't be ridiculous. A little thing like a hitman moving into position isn't gonna scare me away. Of course, if you wanted to make it worthwhile, you and I could…" He brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek.

"I'm not going to make out with you while half the police force and one hitman are looking on."

"And listening in, Chief," said Zeke. She heard him chortle in the background.

Teresa knew that Archie could see her face blushing and waited for his zinger, but another voice got their attention.

"Well, I'm not listening. I don't listen. I don't want to hear anything. Anything! It's the Chief and the Professor's own business, not mine or anyone else's! _And I didn't hear anything last week at the station, either._"

Teresa saw Archie's perplexed look and she knew it reflected her own.

"What are you talking about, Henry?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I didn't hear anything up to and including now."

Archie shrugged his shoulders, and Teresa switched her transmitter to receive-only so the two of them could talk in private. They had spent all afternoon preparing for the hitman's arrival, and now they were sitting in her car, bait for the trap. To her it seemed as good a time as any to get answers to the questions that kept flitting through her mind.

"So, Arch, you owe me a lot of explanations."

"You've decided to call me Archie instead of Jane?"

"Yep. It's the safest thing to do."

"Where do you want me to begin?"

"How about starting with who died at that mine in British Columbia?"

"When you mentioned the carnie connection on Sunday night, it clued me in to look there. Since I used my carnie friends to help establish my new identity, I thought that it might be someone from that world. It turned out that the new Patrick Jane was the old Matt Ansted, an acquaintance from childhood."

"Why on earth would he take on your identity?"

"Ansted was never the brightest star in the galaxy, if you know what I mean. Growing up, he and I were often mistaken for each other…"

"Which I'm sure made you mad."

"Indeed. Anyway, it turns out that Ansted was down on his luck, in trouble with two ex-wives, a loan shark, and the police in three states. It was a measure of how low he'd sunk that somehow he got in his feeble brain that the identity of a federal fugitive was better than his own. Like I said, he wasn't very bright. The name Patrick Jane gave him entry into carnie communities where people had heard of me but never met either him or me."

"Well, thanks to him, the FBI closed their file on you."

"That's funny. He was a rival growing up, and in death he gave me a new lease on life."

"When I told you that Patrick Jane was dead, why didn't you tell me who you were then? I was in agony."

Archie inhaled a deep breath.

"I'll always be sorry for that. Before the news of my death, I'd planned to tell you on Monday. You and I had already non-verbally communicated the truth on our trip. When you and I watched the sunrise together on the bluff, I'd never felt that kind of joy before."

"I felt the same way." She squeezed his hand.

"But when you told me the news, I worried that it might be a setup of some sort. By whom I had no idea. Maybe the FBI had set a trap for me. Whatever it was, I still had to protect you. Saying nothing would give you plausible deniability."

"Plausible deniability?"

He snorted.

"I'll admit I haven't been thinking clearly lately. What else do you want to know?"

"You went to great lengths to create 'Archie Marbray.' It must have taken some serious money."

"I've always retained some assets stashed away in accounts outside the U.S. I know you had your suspicions when we were at CBI."

She nodded.

"Still, it took a lot, I'm sure."

"Yeah, it took a while to convert a chunk of those resources to liquid assets that I could use here."

"Yet you lived like a pauper back at CBI, and here you live in an abandoned dorm room."

Archie shrugged.

"It's true I don't spend a lot of money on myself nowadays. That helped when I did my research on Volker. By the way, the moonlighting job you gave me at the police department gave me some 'walking around' money. You know, some easy-to-access funds I could use to buy my lady love a headlamp."

They grinned at each other.

"Okay, how did you cheat the lie detector?"

"A thumb tack applied against my finger at certain points during the test. The slight pain from it pricking the skin can affect responses. I picked up the tack in your office when we went there for you to fingerprint me."

She crossed her arms.

"About your fingerprints. How did you do that?"

"Reversal of prints. It's a pretty new scam." He chuckled. "I noticed you have a stack of unread journals and alerts piled up on your desk. I'm sure there's a report on how the scam works in there somewhere."

"I used to stay current on all of that. I had no backlog of reading…"

"…until a certain suave, charming college professor came into your life and swept you off your feet."

She could tell he expected a sharp retort to what he just said. Instead, she decided to surprise him with the truth.

"You're right, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world."

"Nor would I, Teresa." He stroked her cheek again. "I was crazy to hide in the shadows and never contact you. Fear of the FBI, fear of exposure, fear of what you might think of me - I let all of that keep me away from you."

"But then I came to you at Deverell College."

"One of the biggest shocks of my life was that day when I looked up from the lectern to see you standing in the back of the amphitheater. I lost control of my emotions for an instant."

"I thought I saw you open your mouth."

"If you'd been closer you would have not only seen my mouth drop open, you would have heard me gasp. I couldn't believe it. I dropped my head down until I could regain control of myself."

"What was different about us meeting then?"

"You came to me. I figured if anyone was looking for me, they'd expect me to contact you."

Teresa threaded her fingers through Archie's.

"We wasted so much time."

"Like I said, I'll always regret that. By the way, the outcome of our chess game really did surprise me."

"You were trying to win?"

"Indeed I was."

"So, I beat you…"

"Drew me, Teresa. You drew me."

She fingered the lapel on his jacket.

"You're slipping then."

"It must have been your eyes - like you said."

"So my eyes _do_ bewitch you?"

She batted them at him.

"They do. And there are lots of other things about you that mesmerize me too."

He leaned over until their foreheads were touching.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Your supple lips, your lovely dimples, your right uppercut…"

She jerked her head back to look at him crinkle his eyes as he smiled. Of course, his eyes bewitched her too.

"Things will never be easy with you, whether you're Jane or Archie, will they?"

"You wouldn't have it any other way, would you my dear?"

"Nope."

"Chief, are you there?"

Teresa switched over the transmitter so she could talk to Zeke.

"We're here."

"The suspect is looking at your car like something's wrong." Zeke said.

"The problem is the Chief is just sitting here talking to me. It looks like the setup that it is. If I were the hitman I'd be wondering myself," Archie said.

"Professor Marbray is right, Chief. You're just sitting there like you're waiting for something to happen," said Zeke.

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, the Professor had an idea a minute ago…"

"Zeke, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Now all I have to do is convince Teresa to…"

"Shut up and kiss me, Arch."

Teresa didn't give him any more opportunity to run his mouth. Launching her body over to the passenger side of the car, she pressed him back against the seat and covered his lips with hers. They remained like that, oblivious to the outside world, until…

_Bang, bang…bang, bang, bang…bang, bang._

Archie hurled Teresa to the floorboard and covered her body with his own. They clung to each other like a vice grip. It took a moment for both to realize the sound of gunfire had come from the wireless, not from around the squad car. When they clawed their way back into their seats, Teresa grabbed the wireless microphone.

"Zeke! What happened?" All she heard was dead air. By instinct she and Archie grasped each other's hands. "Zeke? Zeke? Tell me what's going on!"

Muffled sounds came from the wireless then a familiar voice.

"The situation's under control, Chief. The suspect is in custody. Everyone is fine, although judging by the grins on Hinks and Albury's faces the two of them are gonna be insufferable around the station for at least the next month."

"Tell 'em 'job well done' for me, will you?"

"Will do, Chief."

Teresa squeezed Archie's hand as they both let out sighs of relief.

* * *

Back at the station, Hinks and Albury took charge of the hitman, an out-of-stater named Brent Sandfoss. Teresa and Archie stared at him as Albury led him to a processing station. When Archie spoke, it turned out he had the same thing on his mind as was on hers.

"You've got enough evidence to convict Sandfoss without bringing me into this," said Archie.

"I agree."

"But there's not enough right now to link Sandfoss to Volker without my _research_."

She tapped Archie's arm.

"Let's go down to my office and close the door. Then we can go over everything you've got on your computer."

Before setting up the trap, Teresa had only scanned the most relevant information that Archie collected on Brent Sandfoss himself. Now back in her office, she saw page after page of notes, documents, and contacts that linked the hitman and Volker.

"The depth of all this astounds me, Arch."

"And this doesn't include the dead ends and false alarms I've tracked."

"I can't believe you put all this together."

"Why is it so hard to believe, Teresa? You remember what I did at the end of the Red John hunt. The difference here is that I kept everything on a computer instead of tacked to a wall. My process was similar though. I identified Volker and three others among your arrests over the years as potential threats. Volker was far and away the most likely to seek revenge, and my analysis proved true."

"You kept track of all of this and me too?"

"I did."

"So you were part-stalker, part-guardian angel."

His face scrunched up.

"I like the sound of 'guardian angel' better, Teresa."

She still had a hard time grasping all that she saw on the screen. Shifting her gaze from the screen to Archie, she stared at him with a mix of gratitude and love.

"You did this for me?"

Archie brushed his fingers through Teresa's hair.

"You'd be surprised about what I'm capable of doing for the woman I love."

She ran her index finger around the edge of his lips.

"I'd like to find out."

Teresa enjoyed the shudder she produced in Archie.

"Well, we've still got a problem." Archie sighed. "To connect Volker, we've got to use _all_ of this including the network I built up. Stuff that I compiled."

"But…"

"I know, I know. I used certain _tools_ to keep tabs on Volker and his people that you never would. A few well-placed dollars to snitches and a little blackmail of public figures who feared their Volker connections ever coming to light produced results."

"You blackmailed public figures?"

"I prefer to call it helping them to see the error of their ways. After my conversations with them, they severed their ties to him."

"So where does that leave us?"

"You have no choice, Teresa. Putting Sandfoss away without tying in Volker means Volker gets another chance against you. We have to use my information."

"But that means that you…"

She saw his lips tremble.

"I love you, and your well-being means more to me than anything else. I'll go to prison if that means you're safe."

"No!" Teresa felt tears edging to her eyes. "I can't let you go away again. Especially now."

As both choked back sobs, they embraced. After several moments, a knock at the door startled them.

"Chief, we're finished processing Sandfoss. What should we do with him?" Officer Albury stood in the doorway, concern etched across his face.

"Put him in a holding cell."

Albury nodded then spoke again.

"The guy's really antsy. It's clear he didn't expect to get caught. I'm guessing he's never been in this situation before."

Teresa thanked Albury as he was leaving, then looked at Archie.

"So Sandfoss has never been arrested before." She saw Archie scrunch his nose. "What are you thinking, Arch?"

"I'm thinking to strike while the iron is hot. Albury said he's antsy. Interrogation might get _Sandfoss himself_ to provide the link to Volker."

"That's all well and good, but who would interrogate him?"

"Who normally handles the big cases?"

"Me. Obviously I can't do it now."

"What about Zeke?"

"Zeke would be the first one to tell you that he's not a good interrogator. That's why I've done all the big ones. And I can't put _you_ in the room with Sandfoss. By the time the state police and FBI get here, he'll have clammed up and they won't get anything out of him."

Archie took a deep breath.

"Wanna try a Hail Mary?"

Despite the dire situation, Teresa had to smile.

"I never thought I'd hear you use the term 'Hail Mary,' be it Jane or Archie. I'll try any ideas you've got."

* * *

In the break room, Henry Karson was just sitting down to a cup of coffee and the sports section of the newspaper. Even though he manned the communication van during the Sandfoss arrest, he felt drained. The whirl of activity around the station since then fatigued him even more. Kicking back with the cup of coffee was the first quiet time he'd had all day.

Looking up from the paper, he saw Officer Michaela Hinks walk toward him at a brisk pace.

"Hey, Henry! I finally tracked you down. Chief Lisbon sent me to find you. She and Professor Marbray want you in her office."

Her words filled him with dread.

"What's it about, Michaela?"

"I don't know, but they want to see you pronto."

Throwing away the cup, he walked to the other end of the building to the chief's office. As he got nearer, the jitters increased in his stomach. Seeing the door to her office ajar, he covered his eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

"Ma'am, you and the professor wanted to see me?"

"Henry, why do you have your hand over your eyes?"

"Your privacy, ma'am. What you and the professor do is your own business. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with what you do in this office, it's your office and you're both adults. A lot older than me so you can do what you want, when you want, where you want. Uhhh, that didn't come out too good. I mean, regardless of your age you should be able to do what you want. It's just that at your age you've earned… Uhhh, that's not coming out well either. Let me start over again. The two of you are…"

"Henry, take you hand off your eyes."

He did what Chief Lisbon told him and saw her and Professor Marbray smiling at him. The professor put his hand on Henry's shoulder. For some reason he didn't quite understand, that made him relax.

"You know how we've been working on your interviewing skills, Henry?"

"Yes, sir. You've been very kind to work extra time with me on them."

He saw Professor Marbray grin.

"Chief Lisbon and I want you to put your skills to work tonight. With Sandfoss."

Henry's jaw fell open.

"But I'm a screw-up getting anything useful from suspects. The Chief can tell you that."

Both the chief and the professor crossed their arms. Marbray scowled at him.

"Henry Karson, you are not a screw-up! You're a gifted young man! You have talent and we believe in you."

Chief Lisbon nodded her agreement, but dread filled his thoughts. What if he said the wrong thing? What if he did something that let Sandfoss escape his charges?

"But Sandfoss isn't like some teenager who painted the town's water tower green."

"We have faith in you, Henry. Archie, _I mean Professor Marbray_, has told me what a fine student you are. You won his award, didn't you?"

The professor nodded.

"Henry, show all of us what you're capable of. You can make a difference here." The professor glanced at the chief then back at him. "Do it for Chief Lisbon and me."

Henry looked at the two of them. Their expressions held a mix of hope and encouragement. What was that familiar feeling? It was like when his parents came to see him perform in his high school play. The professor reached over to pat his arm.

A feeling of confidence came over him, and he straightened his back.

_I'll make them proud of me._

"Okay, Professor. Help me get ready."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Author's notes:

Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote and recorded "Shut Up and Kiss Me" in 1994 for her album _Stones In The Road_.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story.


	12. Bring It On Home To Me

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for their help and support with this story! Their guidance helped me reshape and clean up this chapter and the previous one. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing Jane-on-the-run story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest mystery romance, "White Out." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.)

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the title follow the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12: "Bring It On Home To Me"

* * *

Archie took Henry into the conference room to prepare. In the meantime, Teresa got word someone wanted to see her in the lobby. There, with expressions of concern etched across their faces, were Rho and Cobb.

"Teresa! You're alright!" When Rho caught sight of her, she ran to embrace her. Cobb followed.

"Let's go down to my office, we can talk in private there."

Unsure of how Rho and Cobb felt about the whole situation, Teresa pointed down the hallway. Once inside the office, she shut the door.

"How's Archie, or Patrick, or Mr. Jane?" Rho asked.

She could still see the uncertainty on Rho and Cobb's faces.

"_Archie_'s fine." Teresa made sure to emphasize the name she would call him by. "Right now he's helping one of our officers prepare to interrogate the hitman."

Rho and Cobb's expressions turned somber. Rho spoke as her husband nodded his agreement.

"We've spent the last eight hours learning all about Patrick Jane and you and that monster Red John."

"It's not a pretty story."

Rho grasped her hand.

"It's a wonder Archie - or you - survived. We read _everything_."

Teresa patted Rho's arm.

"There were plenty of times I didn't think either of us would live through it, but we did. And I'm glad we got back together here in Cannon River."

"The two of you have been through so much, and then they hounded him when they should have given him a medal." Rho got a stern expression on her face. "Teresa, you and Archie deserve your happiness together after what you've been through."

"Thank you, Rho." Teresa breathed a silent sigh of thanksgiving for the couple's support.

"We've worried about Archie ever since he came to Deverell. He was so alone, so solitary, and it turned out we didn't even know the half-of-it." Cobb shook his head as he spoke. "We were so happy for both of you when you got together. Little did we know it was a reunion."

"I love Archie with all my heart. He's the best thing to come into my life." She amazed herself with how frank she was with her newfound friends.

"We know that, and he certainly loves you, Teresa," said Rho.

Teresa heard the conference door open and the voices of Archie and Henry in the hallway. Henry's voice sounded much more confident, and Archie's carried a tone of encouragement.

"It sounds like Archie's finished working with the officer. Would you like to talk with him? I know he'd like to see the two of you."

"We would," said Cobb.

Teresa opened the door and the three of them entered the hallway just as Archie finished speaking to Henry.

"…just remember the three B's, Henry. Bluffing-brashness-brotherhood. You'll do fine."

"Thank you, Professor. Thank you for your faith in me."

With a file folder tucked under his arm, Henry nodded and disappeared into the lobby. When Archie turned towards Cobb and Rho, they hurried over to embrace him as they had done before with Teresa. The trio sat down on a bench further down the hall with Archie in the middle. Rho held one of his hands in hers, and Cobb held the other. While Teresa couldn't make out their words, the voices of the couple carried a soothing tone. The scene reminded her of parents consoling a child, albeit an adult one.

* * *

_In the observation room on the other side of the one-way mirror to the interrogation room._

Teresa and Archie watched as Officers Hinks and Albury brought Sandfoss into the interrogation room. After seating him on the side opposite the mirrored glass, the officers exited, shutting the door loudly.

"Henry will let Sandfoss stew alone for a few moments before he comes in. Albury is right; this guy's not used to the inside of a police station," Archie said.

Teresa had a question burning inside her.

"What was that business about 'bluffing-brashness-brotherhood' you were saying to Henry in the hallway?"

Archie beamed.

"A way to sum up the interrogation techniques I taught your officers. 'Bluffing' is pretty self-explanatory."

"Yeah, I got that part."

"'Brashness' means that the officer exudes confidence. He or she projects total command of the situation."

"Sounds about right…"

"And 'brotherhood' means that the officer establishes a rapport with the suspect, some sort of kinship."

"You came up with this on your own?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"It seemed like a good way to condense what your officers and I discussed into something easy to remember."

"And to think I didn't have to pay you extra for all that!"

"Yeah, if you'd paid me more money, I'd just have spent it on more outdoor gear for my girlfriend." Archie winked at Teresa.

A high-pitched squeak got their attention; the interrogation room door swung open. The noise sounded like a form of torture, and Teresa knew it would play on the mind of any suspect sitting in there. Sandfoss winced. She needed to have the maintenance staff fix the door. Sometime, but not tonight.

File folder still under his arm, Henry strode to the other side of the table from Sandfoss. With a sneer - a sneer! - on his face, Henry looked like a man possessed. Facing the suspect, he hurled the folder down on the table, and its contact with the polished surface produced a loud smack that echoed off the walls.

"What did you do to Henry?" Teresa asked.

"Positive reinforcement, my dear. Did you know he was an actor in high school? I suggested he play the role of a tough interrogator. Watch and observe."

_In the interrogation room…_

Henry noted that Sandfoss had crossed his arms, yet the sound of the folder on the table had startled him. That was good information to know, just like the professor said.

He prayed for strength to get through this. The hitman sitting in front of him made him uneasy, but having the chief and the professor watching on the other side of the mirrored glass terrified him. He took a deep breath and remembered the encouragement they had given him.

_I…will…not…fail…them. I…will…succeed._

Henry sucked in a deep breath and began.

"Brent Sandfoss, we finally meet. So, you're the man that tried to kill my boss. Let me introduce myself. My name's Henry, and I'm either your worst nightmare - or your only hope. You get to decide."

"I got nothing to say."

"Good. 'Cause I'm gonna do the talking right now. We've got all we need to put you away for a long time, and I'm sure once the state police and the FBI get to nosing around your life other stuff will come out. If you hadn't come after the Chief, I might even feel a little sorry for you. But I don't."

"Pissy little kid." Sandfoss sneered when he spoke.

His derision unnerved Henry, but the professor had anticipated that. Marbray told him to respond with an intimidating gesture.

Henry swung his arm around until his fist crashed on the table. As his fist arced through the air, it missed Sandfoss's nose by a millimeter. Henry noted the surprise on the hitman's face. He walked around to the other side of the table and bent over next to Sandfoss's ear.

"Save that shit for the state and federal guys when they show up. They get paid more than I do to put up with language like that."

"But you just said…"

"I'm not the subject of this conversation. You are. Shut up."

"Why?"

"Why you ask? Because I'm the closest thing you've got to a friend in this building. You've got three problems right now, and I'm the only one who can help you out of the mess you've gotten yourself into."

"Enlighten me. What are my problems?"

"I already told you your first problem. You tried to kill my boss."

"_Allegedly_ tried to kill your boss. I was just visiting your fair city for its scenic wonders."

_I've got to stay in control, be confident. Don't let my fear show through._

Henry patted Sandfoss on the shoulder as he chortled.

"Oh, Brent. May I call you Brent? Sure I can. I always appreciate someone with a sense of humor. I understand you've gotta say that, just like I've gotta say I like my brother-in-law. Come to think of it, we have something in common. Your record says that _your_ brother-in-law and _your_ sister filed a lawsuit against you a year ago. Something about a real estate investment gone sour. Cleaned out all your money." Henry smiled and shook his head in sorrow. "Relatives! They can really be a pain in the ass sometimes, can't they?"

Sandfoss grunted.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' from you. I'm gonna make a guess here, Brent. After your family got through with you, you had money problems. Volker offered you a way out."

"I got nothing to say. I told you."

Henry circled around the table with his arms folded.

"Good, cause I wanna move on to your second problem. Volker is not gonna get you out of this jam. He's putting as much distance between you and him as possible. No one's gonna ride to your rescue. You're on your own."

"I've been on my own since I was a teenager. Nothing new."

"Brave talk, Brent. Brave, brave talk. You can look forward to the Public Defender in this town taking care of you, not some high-priced defense attorney. Good luck with that." Henry stopped, stooped over, and looked Sandfoss in the eye. "By the way, my brother-in-law is the Public Defender. My sister believes in him, but she also believed in Santa Claus until she was 16."

"I'm not scared."

"Are you familiar with Game Theory, Brent?"

"No."

"Too bad, because the situation you're in right now is a real Prisoner's Dilemma."

Henry couldn't remember the details about the term, but he figured it was worth using on Sandfoss.

"That sounds like B.S."

"Oh, it's all too real. Here's what's happening. We're waiting for either you or Volker to crack. Whoever goes first gets off easier; whoever doesn't gets slammed hard."

"I'll take my chances."

"Oh, you are the brave one. Let me tell you about your third problem. It's even bigger than the other two." Henry pointed to the folder. "I brought some show-and-tell pictures with me. Let's take a look."

He spread out driver's license photographs of four men and one woman on the table in front of Sandfoss.

"Umph."

"I've got a quiz for you. Brent. What do these five people all have in common? Besides the fact that they're all dead now."

Sandfoss glanced at Henry.

"Huh?"

"These pictures from the driver's licenses are the 'before' photos. Now let me show you the 'after' photos."

Henry produced five more photographs from crime scenes and lined them up underneath the first five. Sandfoss recoiled away from the table when he saw them. He didn't blame Sandfoss; when the professor first showed them to Henry a wave of nausea overcame him. Later he went to the bathroom and threw up. He still had to steady himself while looking at them over Sandfoss's shoulder.

"So?" Henry heard a choking sound in his voice.

"Ha! You can say these photos didn't affect you, but I can see the truth. Anyway, getting back to the matter at hand. What do these five people have in common?"

"I give up. What?"

"All of these people worked for Tommy Volker. They all reached the point where they became a problem for him. See how he dealt with them?"

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself. Here's something to think about though. Who did Volker hire to silence you once you finished? Do you think it was the same guy who did this one?" Henry pointed to the second picture. "Or this one?" He nodded toward the fourth picture. "Or maybe this one?" He held up the fifth picture in front of Sandfoss's face. "Ugh." Henry made a shudder that was only partly exaggerated. "What do you think happened to that guy's head, Brent? It's all torn apart. Do you think the poor guy was still alive when that happened? It looks like some animal got hold of him. Is this how you see yourself ending up?"

"Enough!" Sandfoss batted the photo of the fifth victim away from his face. Henry made exaggerated hand movements as he placed it on the table right in front of him.

"I agree. I've had enough of this talking. We're back to that Prisoner's Dilemma that you're in. Who's going to talk first? You or Volker? By the way, even if Volker talks first, you can still end up like one of these people in the photos. If something happened to you later when you were in prison, Volker knows that no one would care."

"Get these things out of my sight." With a sweep of his arm, Sandfoss sent the photos flying to the floor. Henry picked them up, put all except the fifth photo back on the table, and held the fifth one in front of Sandfoss's eyes.

"Why? Does it sicken you? It sickens me. Of course, I haven't been a business associate of Volker like you have. What I need from you is a written confession, a statement of your relationship with Volker, and tangible evidence that we can access to prove that Volker hired you."

"Volker did all this?"

Henry heard Sandfoss's voice crack when he asked that.

"I…already…told…you. Now you're wasting my time." Henry dropped the fifth photo to the table, then he turned his back on Sandfoss and crossed his arms.

_Please give in. Oh, please give in, I can't keep this up much longer._

"But…"

"No more 'buts.' You've got ten seconds to decide. If you do the three things I tell you, things will go easier on you. And you'll escape Volker's follow-up that he's planned for you. In ten seconds, I'm walking out that door."

_One…two…three…_

The room fell silent.

…_four…five…_

With his back still turned, Henry bit his lip as his heart pounded.

…_six…seven…_

It was all he could do to stifle the shaking that wanted to seize his whole body.

…_eight…nine…ten._

Time was up. Sandfoss hadn't responded. He knew he had to exit to save face, so he turned back around.

"Too bad. So long…"

"Don't leave. Give me a pen and paper. I'll write it all down. Just don't let me end up like that." Sandfoss pointed at the mangled head in the fifth photo.

"We need everything, Brent. Every last thing. And it's gotta check out. Here's paper and pen. Start writing." Henry shoved a notepad and pen in front of him. "I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes."

Somehow Henry made it into the hallway before trembling seized his whole body. Only at that point did he notice that sweat drenched his clothes. The door to the observation room opened and the chief and the professor barreled through it.

"You did it!" Professor Marbray slapped him on the back.

"That was masterful, Henry. I'm so proud of you!" Chief Lisbon said.

Drained of all energy, Henry stumbled. Before he fell to the floor, two pair of hands grabbed his arms to hold him up. He was half-crying, half-smiling when he could at last get any words out of his mouth.

"I did it! I did it for the two of you."

* * *

Deep into the night, the state police and the FBI arrived at the station. Under Zeke's direction, the Cannon River police department had put together all the materials they would need to charge Volker. Teresa made sure that anything tied to Archie got left out.

As Teresa and Archie at last began to relax in her office, she got a phone call from an old friend. By coincidence, Kimball Cho was driving to the Seattle FBI office for an early morning meeting. He'd found out about the Sandfoss arrest from one of the agents he was to meet, and he told Teresa that he would stop by the Cannon River Police Station for a few minutes while on his way.

Hearing Cho and Officer Albury talking as they walked down the hallway to her office, Teresa glanced nervously at Archie. He winked back at her as they stood side-by-side as Cho and Albury came through the doorway.

"Kimball! Good to see you again."

"Teresa! Glad to see you're safe."

They hugged, although she could tell that was awkward for her old second-in-command. She smiled at how some things never changed. At least he called her 'Teresa' now.

"Kimball, I'd like for you to meet Professor Archibald Marbray from Deverell College here in town. He works part-time with our department."

"Pleased to meet you, Professor Marbray."

"And good to meet you, Agent Cho. Chief Lisbon has told me about working with you."

"Working for her was the best learning experience I ever had. It's served me well in my whole career including the FBI."

"So you were on the road in the middle of the night?" she asked.

"Yeah, I had taken some personal time in California and decided to drive up. I was due at the Seattle FBI office…" He glanced at his watch then snorted. "…later this morning. It turned out that two of the local agents scheduled for the meeting got sent here instead. One of them, who knew my connection to you, called to let me know what happened here."

"Well, everything here has settled down now."

"I had your Officer Albury show me the arrest reports. Looks like my Seattle colleagues have an open-and-shut case thanks to your police force."

"Our officers did good work, all of them."

Cho glanced over to Archie.

"Teresa's always had a good eye for talent. She hired the best at CBI, and it's obvious she does the same here."

"They've impressed me too." Archie nodded as he spoke.

"I saw that confession your guy Henry Karson got out of Sandfoss. He did a fine job."

Teresa motioned at Archie.

"Henry is Professor Marbray's shining student. The professor has been working with him on interrogation techniques."

"My compliments, Professor. If your other students are anything like him, your talents are worthy of an FBI trainer."

Archie laughed.

"Thank you for the kind words, Agent Cho, although I'm quite happy here in Cannon River."

They talked some more about the case, and that led Cho to reminisce about the old days.

"Tommy Volker is a nasty piece of work. His case was one of those at CBI that still sticks in my mind."

"Hopefully after tonight he won't be causing any more trouble," Teresa said.

Cho got a pensive look on his face, surprising her.

"Jane had a big hand in getting Volker the first time. I'm sorry he didn't live to see that guy taken down again."

"He would have enjoyed it."

Cho shook his head.

"I hope Jane finally got some peace in his last days. He deserved it. They should never have gone after him like they did."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I agree."

Cho looked at his watch.

"I better get back on the road to make Seattle by daybreak. Teresa, it's always good seeing you. Professor Marbray, it was good to meet you."

They shook hands with Cho then he walked to the door. As Teresa and Archie glanced at each other, they heard Cho's voice one more time as he went through the doorway.

"Nice dye job."

* * *

Despite the fatigue that lined the officers' faces, the voices around the station all carried a lilt of good cheer. At the table in the break room next to where Teresa and Archie sat, a crowd thronged around Henry, Michaela, and Warrick. The other officers were buying them rounds of coffee and slapping them on the back non-stop. And why not? All three had distinguished themselves tonight. Teresa smiled at their success and at the camaraderie their fellow officers displayed. From Zeke on down to the rookies, she saw expressions brimming with confidence and pride. Finishing off some coffee, Teresa and Archie made their way back to her office. Once inside with the door closed, he embraced her.

"So, what about me?"

Teresa made a show of glancing at her watch.

"Well, in four hours you've got that 8:00am class of yours. I'm sure Rho expects you there, ready to go. And I'm not letting you off the hook about working here this afternoon."

"What are _you_ planning to do with me?"

Teresa pulled Archie's lips to hers for a kiss before she replied.

"I plan to keep you under surveillance. _Close_ surveillance."

"Oh, I like the sound of that."

She saw his eyes twinkle.

"Yep. And if you're a bad boy, I'll have to put you under house arrest."

He circled his arms around her back, and she draped hers around his shoulders.

"But I don't live in a house, Teresa."

"But I do, Archie."

He pulled her lips to his for another kiss.

"I'm a baaaad boy, a bad, bad boy."

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Greg Bieck, Taylor Hayes Bieck, and Wayne Kirkpatrick wrote "Bring It On Home." The vocal group Little Big Town recorded the song for their album _The Road to Here_.

Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: "_**Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story**_"

One more chapter remains. Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing the story!


	13. Light Of A Clear Blue Morning

Author's notes:

Thank you to two great writers and friends, **Sue Shay** and **make-mine-a-kiaora**, for all their help! I feel blessed to be able to work with them and learn from them; it's like being in the greatest creative writing class of all time with the two of them as instructors. I first discussed this story idea with them in November 2013, and without their support and encouragement I would not have pursued it. Check out **make-mine-a-kiaora**'s ongoing Jane-on-the-run story in drabble format, "All Systems Go"; and also check out **Sue Shay**'s latest mystery/romance, "White Out." (I favorited both in my profile for easy access.) As a matter of fact, check out all of their stories!

I do not own the TV show _The Mentalist_ and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

Chapter 13: "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning"

* * *

_Three months later…_

Teresa Lisbon stood at the edge of the big lawn where the Deverell College graduation ceremony had just ended. Families and friends thronged around newly-minted graduates, and a hundred cameras took aim to capture the happy faces. The sea of people obscured her view of the forward area even though she stood on her tiptoes and strained her neck to look.

Then she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure winding his way through the crowd. Looking very dashing in his full academic regalia - black gown, brown and white sash, and black cap encrusted with gold threading - Professor Archie Marbray walked toward her. Teresa had only partly succeeded earlier that morning; under protest he had allowed her to trim around the edges of his beard. But he put his foot down - literally - about wearing dress shoes. She chuckled as his feet moved back and forth from under the gown to reveal a pair of new hiking shoes.

_At least I got him to wear his new ones!_

As he came up to Teresa, Archie pulled her to him for a kiss, a long, deep one. Amid the bedlam, no one seemed to notice. When they broke the kiss, she laughed.

"Not that I'm complaining any, but what was that about?"

"Everyone around us is celebrating so I figured, why can't we?"

Teresa snatched a quick kiss of her own.

"Are you ready to go?"

"One more thing. Rho said that we needed to stop by her office before leaving."

Hand-in-hand, Teresa and Archie walked over to the administration building. When he knocked on the door to the President's office, Rho called out, "Come in."

Rho was hanging up her academic regalia on the coat rack. Already back in jacket-and-tie, Cobb sat in one of the three guest chairs. He motioned for Archie and Teresa to sit down in the other two.

Rho seated herself behind her desk and smiled at Archie and Teresa. Then she raised herself up to cast a look at his feet. She shook her head.

"So you're still trying to start a fashion trend with those hiking shoes, are you?"

"At least Teresa got me to put on my new pair, Rho. She's a good influence on me."

"Obviously she has more sway with you than Cobb and I ever did. For that I'm grateful." She picked up a piece of paper from the desk and waved it in front of her. "I wanted you and Teresa to come by the office before you left. Do you know what this is?"

By instinct Archie and Teresa clasped their hands together.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with my employment at Deverell College."

Rho looked over at Cobb.

"Cobblethorpe, I do believe that young fellow learns quickly." She looked back at Archie and Teresa. "Indeed you are correct. It's the official document granting you tenure. You know, that little thing that says you can keep working here?"

Teresa felt Archie's hand grip hers tighter.

"Well?"

"It's unsigned, Archie. Until now." With a flourish Rho took her pen to scribble her signature across the bottom. "Congratulations. Based on your excellent teaching, research, and community service, I am awarding you tenure."

Archie and Teresa leaned in for a kiss.

"Just a second, kids." Rho's stern voice broke them apart like a parent scolding a pair of teens. "I've got something for the two of you. It goes with the tenure."

Rho reached in her desk drawer to pull out a tube. She handed it to Teresa.

"Guffaw!" Teresa laughed as she showed the tube of hair dye to Archie. He chuckled.

"Ahem!" Again, Rho's voice made the two of them return their attention to her. "Teresa, I'm depending on you. For the sake of all four of us, I'm depending on you to make him keep his hair the same shade it is now."

"I will, Rho."

She smiled at Teresa.

"By the way, I like how you're having him keep his beard trimmed nowadays."

Teresa reached over to run her fingers through Archie's whiskers.

"I think he looks better now than any time since I've known him."

"Oh, I almost forgot. There's something else that the two of you were interested in." Rho shuffled through some papers on her desk. "Ah, here it is. It's the graduate school admission for your officer…"

"Henry Karson?" Teresa smiled when she completed Rho's sentence.

"Yes. He can begin as a part-time student next fall." Rho looked over at Archie. "I also approved his working for you as your research assistant."

"Thank you, Rho. He'll be splitting time between school and the police department."

Cobb had sat silent; now he spoke up.

"So, what about that trip of yours? You've had to put it off for a while."

"Yes, Cobb and I are desperate to find out. Are you going on a cruise? To a resort? Out of the country?" Rho echoed her husband's interest.

"Actually, Teresa and I will put your gift to us to good use."

"You mean the two-person tent? Arch, you can't possibly mean that…"

"We're going back to the San Juan Islands for a few days before the Summer term starts."

Rho looked puzzled.

"The San Juan Islands?"

Teresa spoke up.

"It's my idea, Rho…"

* * *

_Two days later…_

A hand on Teresa's shoulder roused her from her dreams. In the darkness she grabbed Archie's hand to wrap it around her. His body pressed against hers while he brought their lips together. In turn, she ran her fingers through his silky beard. Inflamed by tender touches and soft kisses, their passion ignited yet again that night.

When they finished their love-making this time, instead of drifting back to sleep, they unzipped the tent to venture outside. Even for May, the nighttime produced a chill. Drawing blankets around them, they rekindled the fire to boil water for tea. Taking their cups and blankets with them, they walked over to sit on the bluffs.

As Teresa saw a faint coloring of the sky to the east, the birds began to chirp louder. Below them she could hear the sound of water surging across the shore. The night breeze blew across her face as she snuggled closer to Archie. He wrapped his blanket over her shoulder so it covered both of them.

In a few moments the sun burst forth above the horizon. Teresa and Archie raised their cups in silent toast to celebrate the new day. As darkness gave way, they joined their hands together. The light of a clear blue morning glistened on a pair of matching wedding rings.

"Good morning, Patrick."

"Good morning, Teresa."

* * *

The End

* * *

I hope you've enjoyed the story and also the song references. Some of the songs such as "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," "Bring It On Home," "Tell Me True," and "I'm Beginning To See the Light" are less well known, but I encourage you to give them a listen. Readers interested in finding out more about the songs used as story and chapter titles can visit this Youtube playlist: _**"Mentalist - Clear Blue Morning - playlist for fanfic story"**_

Thank you for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing the story!


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